Small shoots across Scotland are facing higher tax bills after the Scottish Government quietly removed them from a key business rates relief scheme.
The change was announced in the Scottish Budget 2026/27 on 13 January, but did not appear in finance secretary Shona Robison’s statement to Holyrood or in the Government’s accompanying news release. Instead, it was included only in the full budget document.
From 1 April, shoots and deer forests will lose eligibility for the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS), which has reduced rates bills since sporting rates were introduced in Scotland in 2017.
Under the change, only shoots where sporting rights are exercised solely for deer management to prevent damage to woodland or agriculture, environmental management or vermin control will retain access to relief. Crofts and certain agricultural tenancies are also exempt, but the wording is expected to prove decisive in practice, with mixed-use operations likely to fall outside the new criteria.
Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) warned the policy could affect family farms and landholdings as well as sporting businesses, including cases where little or no commercial shooting takes place. It said land could still become liable for sporting rates where sporting rights exist, regardless of whether shooting is actively carried out.
In evidence to MSPs, SLE highlighted the example of a small livestock farm in Orkney that uses contractors to control damaging goose populations. It warned the farm could lose SBBS relief under the new criteria, despite the work being required to protect grazing land and food production.
The Scottish Government has introduced transitional relief to phase in higher bills over three years, with affected ratepayers paying 25% of the increase in 2026/27, 50% in 2027/28 and 75% from 2028/29.
Rural groups have criticised the lack of consultation, warning the change risks undermining the viability of smaller shoots and associated employment, while increasing costs for land managers already facing wider pressures.