Benjamin Franklin might have had it right about the only certainties in life but that doesn’t mean the tax system can’t be improved, says CIPFA’s Rob Whiteman.
Kate Forbes is clear it is time to ensure there is money to invest in public services, even though this will not be an easy task. The Scottish finance minister talks to Kerry Lorimer.
Debate about levels of council tax is doomed to go nowhere unless we consider what we’re willing to pay for services and how, says the Local Government Information Unit’s Jonathan Carr-West.
The assignation of VAT revenues to the Scottish Government could expose the Scottish budget to risk because of the difficulty in producing robust estimates, tax experts have warned.
Lone parents and renters are the most likely groups to fall into arrears since local authorities were given control of council tax relief, a think-tank has found.
Welsh councils should ensure they take “early intervention” to stop more households falling into debt as they look to increase council tax next year, a think-tank has said.
A warning has been sounded over Scotland’s public finances as new figures show tax revenues will be undermined by sluggish wage growth north of the border.
Not only has the reduced system of council tax support hit low-paid workers but it has proved remarkably ineffective as a way to raise revenue, says the IFS’ Stuart Adam and Thomas Pope.
The public sector ran a £15bn surplus in January – the biggest on record for that month – as a result of strong taxes coming in, official figures have revealed.
A proposal which will see increasing divergence in income tax rates between Scotland and the rest of the UK has been given the green light by the Scottish Parliament.