While the Budget offered some crowd-pleasing measures, it failed to deliver meaningful change, writes CHRIS BARBER The Finance Secretary’s announcement to increase the amount at which the basic and intermediate income tax thresholds starts by 7.4%, to £16,538 and £29,527 respectively, appears welcome news for low low-income earners. However, at only £11 per year extra in their pockets, this hardly represents any difference to overall livelihoods. These threshold increases also won’t deliver a meaningful […]
Scottish income tax
Time to simplify Scotland’s tax rules
A needlessly complex tax regime needs better alignment with England, argues DONALD PARBROOK While the fiscal position may leave Shona Robison, the outgoing SNP Finance Secretary, with relatively few options, taxpayers in Scotland surely find the Scottish income tax rates and bands system needlessly complicated. The rest of the UK has three income tax bands […]
New battleground in union fightback
BUDGET ANALYSIS: TERRY MURDEN says the Truss government is creating One Nation policies that will test the Holyrood regime Scottish government ministers won’t be short of things to think about in the run-up to the SNP conference this autumn. Liz Truss’s new front bench has spent its first few days in office lobbing policy grenades […]
After the ferries, more taxing issues for Forbes
AS I SEE IT: The Finance Secretary is running out of excuses, says TERRY MURDEN Kate Forbes must be wishing her maternity leave had kicked in more quickly. This is a week that can’t end soon enough for Scotland’s Finance Secretary. After suffering a mauling over her government’s mishandling of the Clyde ferries contract she […]
Forbes’ tax conundrum | trains setback
AS I SEE IT: TERRY MURDEN Maybe it’s a case of being careful what you wish for. The Scottish Budget has delivered something of an income tax and spending bombshell for the Holyrood government which is largely a result of being granted more powers under devolution. Ministers have been told by the Budget watchdog that […]