CALCULATING business rates is a complex process. But there is nothing hard to understand about what the latest bills mean for Marco Giannasi, owner of Glasgow’s Battlefield Rest restaurant.

Mr Giannasi is deeply concerned after being told his bill for business rates will rise by around 400 per cent because of the most recent revaluation of non-domestic properties.

In practical terms, it means he will have to find another £27,000 a year to cover the extra cost, assuming his appeal against the increase is unsuccessful.

Dealing with such a massive increase would be bad enough if it was the only overhead rise the restaurant faced. But, in common with operators across the hospitality industry, the Battlefield Rest is facing rising costs on a raft of fronts, from increased pension contributions to higher utility bills. This has all come as eating out has become less affordable for consumers contending with surging inflation and falling real pay.

In that context, Mr Giannasi’s frustration is understandable. But equally unsettling is the impression that the rates system is continuing to fail the business community. A year on from The Herald’s campaign which highlighted the huge increases in rates bills following the latest revaluation, and months after the Scottish Government made a series of recommendations to reform the system, it seems there is still no end to the misery rates are bringing to the business community.