Meeting of the Parliament 19 February 2015
Well, that seems to contradict the quote that I highlighted.
In any case, the more fundamental point is that Gavin Brown does not regard the poll tax as being different from other taxes, whereas most of us in the chamber do. Indeed, that is the fundamental dividing line between the Conservatives and other people in the chamber, and it is also the reason why I do not think that it will lead to the effects on the council tax that have been suggested.
There has never been a mass non-payment campaign about the council tax, because even those who are concerned about it recognise that, with its relation to people’s ability to pay, it is a fundamentally different tax. The collection rates show that. We have high rates for the council tax and we had much lower rates when the poll tax existed.
I believe that Mr Brown’s fears are unfounded and I believe that, in principle, we have to regard the poll tax as a fundamentally different tax from other taxes. It is certainly different from any tax that I have known in my lifetime. It is the most unfair and inequitable tax. Of course, large sections of Gavin Brown’s party recognised that at the time, as the issue split his party just as it united the rest of the country against it.
This is a historic day, when we can put the final nail in the coffin of the poll tax. For those of us with long political memories, it reminds us of the campaigns that we were involved in against the poll tax in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was fundamentally different from any tax that we have ever seen.
Of course, there are people outside the chamber who have concerns about the proposal and I would make to them some of the points that I have made to Gavin Brown. However, it is important to put the issue in perspective when speaking to people who have concerns. One thing that I say to them is, “You know, this is just a Scottish issue. They haven’t been collecting poll tax in England for 10 years.” I realise that there are legislative reasons for that, but it helps to put things into perspective. Of course, the other point that is helpful in that regard is that, as other members have said, there is not much left to collect anyway. We should remind people that 10 local authorities already do not collect poll tax debt, and that only £327,000 was collected last year. I understand that some people feel intensely about this issue, but I think that giving that perspective helps to take a little bit of the heat out of the argument.
I am glad that most people in the chamber are united behind the bill. I accept that the Conservatives, perhaps because they introduced the poll tax, have a certain affection for it still and do not wish to separate it from the other taxes that succeeded it. However, I think that most people in Scotland will be pleased that, today, we are finally drawing a line under that era of unfair taxation. Of course, as Alex Rowley said, the important matter now is to fix local government finance. We have not yet come up with the best solution, but I think that everyone is agreed that the council tax was a big improvement on the poll tax, so we should ensure that all our energies are devoted to collecting the council tax—because, my goodness, local government needs it—but we should also cast into the history books and the dustbin of history the unfair and unwanted poll tax.
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