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Meeting of the Parliament 17 December 2013

17 Dec 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Landfill Tax (Scotland) Bill

Mason, John SNP Glasgow Shettleston Watch on SPTV

It is always good to welcome a new tax, although I take the point that the landfill tax is, in fact, a replacement tax and that it is probable that many people will see little immediate change. I accept that it is a relatively small tax and that we hope that it will become smaller over time. Even with it, only about 15 per cent of taxes that are paid in Scotland will come under this Parliament’s control. However, it is still an important tax, not least because it brings together environment policy and revenue raising. It is much to be welcomed that the tax and the fines to be paid by those who carry out unauthorised disposals are to be introduced.

Obviously, as with all taxes in Scotland, we need to be aware of what our neighbours and competitors are doing. We might want to have a higher landfill tax for the good of the environment, for example, but there is little point in having that if it only shifts waste across the border and we suffer a loss of revenue. Therefore, the statement that Scottish rates will mirror UK rates and that the Scottish rate will be no lower than the UK rate in 2015 is pretty fair in the circumstances.

The rate of tax is still to be decided, of course—that has already been mentioned—but a number of red herrings are swimming around in that regard. Going forward, there is no certainty about UK tax rates, so neither businesses nor individuals can have any more faith in a UK Administration than in a Scottish one. In fact, it could be argued that John Swinney is much more boring—I am sorry; I meant to say more stable—than George Osborne, so we can expect more sensible tax decisions in Scotland than we might get in the UK.

We still have to wait and see whether there will be sensible decisions on the block grant adjustment. The odd thing about the landfill tax is that, if it is successful, the tax take will fall, and that must be taken into account when the block grant adjustment is made. All three block grant adjustments for the three taxes that we are taking over are the subject of negotiation between the Scottish and UK Governments.

The Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Bill, which has been mentioned, was introduced on Friday, and I am certainly looking forward to considering it in detail in the Finance Committee. Tax avoidance is a topical issue, so we have the opportunity to put down some markers on that. Trying to achieve fairness can lead to complex legislation and that, in turn, can mean loopholes for those who can afford expensive tax advice, so we need to emphasise simplicity and tax legislation that is clear to all, including the courts. It is also encouraging that revenue Scotland is expected to cost around 25 per cent less than the cost of the same work being done by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

In conclusion, the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Bill is the second of the proposed tax bills stemming from the Scotland Act 2012. I very much welcome the fact that such control is coming to Scotland. We have to accept that we have limited room for manoeuvre on landfill tax, but we need to tackle the huge problem of waste that we face, and the bill gives the opportunity to do so.

15:42

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Meeting of the Parliament 17 December 2013

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