Scotland ‘should levy its own income tax’
Author: The Independent |
The Scottish Parliament should be given sweeping new powers to levy income tax in an effort to make it far more accountable to its electors, a major review of devolution concluded yesterday.
The £32bn Westminster block grant to Edinburgh should be slashed, the review said, with the shortfall made up by raised taxes north of the border.
About one-third of taxes could be levied in Scotland under the proposals, most of it through income tax, but also by passing responsibility for other taxes such as stamp duty and air passenger duty to Holyrood.
At the moment, the parliament can raise or lower the basic rate of tax by up to 3p in the pound – a power it has never exercised – but the government-backed Calman commission envisaged going further.