Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 06 March 2018
06 Mar 2018 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Relief from Additional Amount) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Is it not fair to reflect on the fact that the Parliament as a whole passed the legislation, and to acknowledge that the right thing for the Government to do is to engage with parliamentarians and stakeholders and, where possible, remedy any issues that require to be remedied? For the Government to have taken any other course of action would have meant that there would be no satisfactory resolution for those who have been caught up by the issue. The matter is not necessarily one of parliamentary fault. Whether it is a matter of legal interpretation, enforcement or whatever, surely the Parliament is doing the right thing.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Ken Macintosh)
NPA
The next item of business is a stage 1 debate on motion S5M-10795, in the name of Derek Mackay, on the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Relief from Additi...
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution (Derek Mackay)
SNP
This is part 2 in this afternoon’s act. It will probably be a far more consensual debate than the previous one. It is a shame that Mr Simpson has departed fr...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I welcome what the cabinet secretary has just said about group reliefs. I do not know whether he is familiar with the Law Society of Scotland briefing that w...
Derek Mackay
SNP
I appreciate the intervention, but I do not want to give any views today that are wider than the purpose of the bill and further to what I have said already....
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I call Bruce Crawford to speak on behalf of the Finance and Constitution Committee. 16:17
Bruce Crawford (Stirling) (SNP)
SNP
How long do I get, Presiding Officer?
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Five minutes, Mr Crawford.
Bruce Crawford
SNP
Okay. Thank you. It is my pleasure to speak as the convener of the Finance and Constitution Committee. I put on record my thanks to my fellow committee memb...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I start by reminding members of my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am a member of the Law Society of Scotland. Following on ...
James Kelly (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
There have been a number of heated debates and exchanges over the past of couple months, mainly over the budget and certainly between me and Mr Mackay. I wan...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
We move to the open debate. 16:32
Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
SNP
The title of the bill may prove to be almost as long as the time that is taken to consider and approve it. As the cabinet secretary, the convener and members...
Bill Bowman (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests with respect to my membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. I also...
Derek Mackay
SNP
Is it not fair to reflect on the fact that the Parliament as a whole passed the legislation, and to acknowledge that the right thing for the Government to do...
Bill Bowman
Con
The Parliament is doing the right thing, but there are issues around the method used in doing the right thing—that is what I am going to talk about. Revenu...
Neil Bibby (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I support the bill. Like Bill Bowman, I am likely to repeat what other members have said. The cabinet secretary and others have set out the details of what ...
Ivan McKee (Glasgow Provan) (SNP)
SNP
I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests with respect to rental of a property. I will keep my speech short and give you s...
Bruce Crawford
SNP
Does Mr McKee agree that, with regard to an annual finance or tax bill, perhaps Bill Bowman should go off and read the report of the budget process review gr...
Ivan McKee
SNP
That is exactly the point that I was going to raise next. We should welcome consideration of a finance bill and see whether that is possible. It is a shame t...
James Kelly
Lab
Bill Bowman, Neil Bibby and Ivan McKee all expressed concern that they might be repeating some of the points that others had made, and they must feel sympath...
Alexander Burnett (Aberdeenshire West) (Con)
Con
I thank my fellow committee members for the constructive conversations that we have had on the bill, and I look forward to continuing our work as we scrutini...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I call the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution to conclude the debate. 16:56
Derek Mackay
SNP
Do I have until about 5 o’clock, Presiding Officer?
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Yes.
Derek Mackay
SNP
Thank you very much. I will conclude the debate briefly by answering a number of points that have been raised. I imagine that, of all the devolved taxes, th...