Gordon MP Alex Salmond has said north-east businesses have a “very legitimate” case in the business rates row.
Mr Salmond said that rates revaluations were always controversial whatever the circumstances but acknowledged that there were some cases of “genuine concern”.
He also praised Aberdeenshire Council’s decision to set aside a £3million cash pot at its recent budget meeting, which potentially could be used for rates relief.
He said: “Of course there’s an argument against some of the rates rises and of course people feeling the hard edge of it and in the north-east there’s a very legitimate case because the date that the independent evaluation officers made their valuations was at a time when, a couple of years ago, the economy was much stronger than it is now.
“And that’s why I welcome Aberdeenshire Council’s initiative to put £3m into additional rates relief to try and take some of the edge off for the hardest cases, because in times like this we need our businesses to feel wanted, to be able to grow, to be able to survive and to be able to prosper in the future.
“But don’t tell me that any rates revaluation doesn’t have an outcry because they all do – that applies in England, that applies in Scotland.
“Let’s concentrate the case and the argument among the cases of genuine concern where huge increases seem to be applied following a time of economics which was quite different from the reality that we are experiencing now in the north-east of Scotland.”
Mr Salmond added that it was now time to follow the Shire council’s lead and secure “some benefit” and “some success” from the “rates revolt”.