The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax: proposed relief for Green Freeports

Closed 12 May 2023

Opened 17 Mar 2023

Contact

devolvedtaxes@gov.scot

Feedback updated 14 Sep 2023

We asked

On 17 March 2023, the Scottish Government published a consultation on the draft legislative clauses to introduce a proposed relief from Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) for Green Freeports. Views and comments were sought on key aspects of the draft legislation in order to identify any proposals for legislative amendments which could address any issues of concern.

You said

The consultation closed on 12 May 2023. Submitted responses have been published where permission has been given.

We did

The Scottish Government has published its response to the consultation.

The responses, along with evidence from accompanying stakeholder roundtable discussions and available data, have informed the published legislation. The Scottish Government has published The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Green Freeports Relief) (Scotland) Order 2023.

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

The Scottish and UK governments have worked together constructively to develop a Green Freeport model that reflects the unique conditions in Scotland, and ensures businesses, ports and communities across Scotland can benefit from the Green Freeport opportunity.

On 13 January 2023, following a rigorous assessment and selection process, the Scottish and UK governments announced that Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport and Forth Green Freeport had been selected as Green Freeports.

In the 2022 Green Freeport bidding prospectus, the Scottish Government set out the intent to offer a support package of tax reliefs and other economic levers to support Green Freeports in achieving the following objectives:

  1. promote regeneration and high-quality job creation
  2. promote decarbonisation and a just transition to a net zero economy
  3. establish hubs for global trade and investment
  4. foster an innovative environment

In addition to the core Green Freeport objectives, the overarching policy intent of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) relief is to promote long-term investment in underdeveloped tax sites with economic potential. The Scottish Government accordingly expects that, in a number of instances, this would be one of the first tax reliefs claimed within a Green Freeport site.

This consultation seeks views on proposed legislative amendments to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 (“the LBTT Act”), including the addition of a new schedule 16D to the Act. These will provide a relief from LBTT for qualifying non-residential transactions within a designated Green Freeport tax site.

Read the consultation paper

Why your views matter

This consultation will run for 8 weeks and offers an opportunity to comment on the draft secondary legislation, so as to ensure that it provides for the intended policy intent and does not create unintended consequences.

Views are also sought on a range of issues in order to inform consideration of any relevant impact assessments. Responses are encouraged from all interested parties.

In addition to inviting written responses, the Scottish Government intends to meet with relevant stakeholders to discuss the proposed amendments.

The Scottish Government will carefully consider all responses to the consultation, prior to finalising decisions on legislation for introduction to the Scottish Parliament. 

Interests

  • Economy
  • Main hub