They have rejected any suggestions they don’t pay business rates.
19:41, 03 May 2026Updated 19:47, 03 May 2026
19 Graham Street(Image: Google Maps)
The Scottish Greens have been accused of “blatant hypocrisy” after it emerged they don’t directly pay business rates at their Edinburgh headquarters. The party has vowed to hike Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) on £1 million+ business properties in what they’ve dubbed a “banker tax” to fund schools and care services.
Official filings show no record that the Greens have been directly paying rates on their main office at 19b Graham Street – nor are they registered in the Scottish Assessors portal as a tenant or occupier, reports The Sunday Mail.
Party sources explained the building is part of a shared premises and they sub-let the office in a lease agreement with their landlord, Pottie Wilson, with rates and other costs covered in their monthly bill.
They have emphatically rejected any suggestions they do not pay their full share of business rates.
The guidance from the Scottish Government says all businesses, charities and public sector organisations should pay non-domestic rates whether they are “the owner, tenant or occupier of a non-domestic property”.
Donald McLeod, businessman and owner of Glasgow’s legendary Garage and Cathouse nightclubs, said: “I think this is appalling. Thousands of businesses across the country are under the cosh right now struggling to pay business rates that the Greens want to increase even further. It is further evidence of the fact they do not live in the real world.”
Willie Rennie of the Lib Dems said: “For a party that cannot wait to slap taxes on everything you can think of, it seems unusual that the Greens don’t directly pay business rates.”
Tory business spokesman Murdo Fraser said: “This smacks of blatant hypocrisy from the Scottish Greens. This is a classic case of left-wing politicians preaching to others without leading by example.”
The Tories, the Lib Dems and the SNP are all registered as business rates-payers at their main offices. However, Scottish Labour faced controversy in 2023 after moving into a new HQ in Glasgow, leased to them by a telecoms firm linked to a tax haven, controlled by the son of Labour peer Willie Haughey.
A Scottish Greens spokesman said: “As both the Scottish Greens and our landlords already confirmed to the Sunday Mail, we pay our full share of non-domestic rates through our lease and will take action against anyone who infers otherwise.
“There is nothing interesting, unusual or remotely newsworthy about this arrangement, so this fake outrage from the Tories and others is a clear sign of how desperate they and their super-rich backers have become.”