Green freeports to benefit from LBTT relief –
Forth green freeport will be one of the beneficiaries of tax relief
Businesses will be given tax relief when buying or leasing non-residential buildings or land within Scotland’s two green freeports.
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax relief will be available from 1 October in certain areas of the freeports at Cromarty Firth and the Firth of Forth.
Public Finance Minister Tom Arthur said: “By giving this relief, we are supporting the expansion of businesses, helping drive job creation and creating internationally competitive areas.
“The change will offer an incentive to businesses to invest in these underdeveloped areas, in line with the Scottish Government’s objectives to help them meet their economic potential.”
The green freeports were announced in January and are supported by up to £52 million in start-up funding and and other incentives through a combination of devolved and reserved powers.
The Forth Green Freeport consortium is a private and public partnership that includes: Forth Ports; Babcock; INEOS; Edinburgh Airport; Scarborough Muir Group; Falkirk Council; Fife Council; and Edinburgh Council.
Inverness and Cromarty Firth green freeport aims to build a world-beating floating offshore wind manufacturing sector, with sites in the Cromarty Firth, Invergordon, Nigg, and Inverness.