The Scottish government is preparing to reintroduce its public health supplement – which forced larger retailers to pay extra if they sell alcohol and tobacco – at the end of the year.
Under the public health supplement introduced in 2012, retailers selling alcohol and tobacco from premises with a rateable value of more than £300,000 had to pay an extra tax.
When the supplement was first introduced, the government expected it to bring in £110m over three years to fund public health projects, but it raised £95m over three years before it was scrapped in 2015.
The proposal was not mentioned by Deputy First Minister Shona Robison during her Budget speech last month, but it was hidden within the Budget documents.
David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, told the Daily Mail: “A new levy on grocers smacks of incoherent policymaking within government.
“It’s a bizarre way to behave when other ministers are looking to grocers for help to implement new regulatory measures including in-store restrictions on alcohol marketing, curbs on selling products high in salt and sugar, and a likely rise in alcohol minimum unit pricing.”
Lonsdale told the newspaper: “A more ad hoc and less predictable approach towards levying taxes aimed at specific sectors rings alarm bells.
“It’s likely to affect commercial decisions and make economic recovery more arduous … Ultimately, the cost of operating a retail business is borne by consumers.”
In response, a Scottish government spokesman, said: “This announcement in the Scottish Budget signalled ministers’ intention to explore the reintroduction of a Public Health Supplement.
“Representatives from the retail sector and other relevant stakeholders will be consulted as part of that exploratory work.”
