Conservatives to offer Scotland income tax powers
Conservatives look to afford Scotland greater taxation powers should voters reject indpendence
THE CONSERVATIVES are set to offer Edinburgh full control of all income tax should voters reject Scottish independence in September’s referendum.
The government is expected to publish a review of which powers should be devolved to Holyrood in the case of a ‘no’ vote, City AM reports.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats plan to afford Scotland greater control should they win the next election, and the Conservatives intend to follow suit.
Lord Strathclyde, who led the review of Scotland’s tax powers is said to call for Holyrood to be given responsibility for 40% of the revenue it spends.
Already stamp duty land tax and limited income tax powers were due to be devolved to the Scottish parliament following the Scotland Act 2012. Following that announcement, it emerged Holyrood intended to establish its own tax agency called Revenue Scotland, with the claim the new body “would serve the needs of the people of Scotland at a lower cost than the UK set-up”.
In other news, UKIP leader Nigel Farage pledged to slash the top rate of tax to 40p. He told the BBC‘s Andrew Marr he would drop the top rate from 45p to 40p.