Meeting of the Parliament 07 January 2026
I have less than a minute; otherwise I would have done so.
Of course, we need to raise earnings across the board, because raised earnings will inevitably lead to higher tax intakes. However, here is a sobering statistic: in the year 2023-24, 20 per cent of all Scottish taxpayers paid 66 per cent of all tax. In fact, the top 1 per cent of all taxpayers paid 20 per cent of all tax. That is a sobering reminder that we need to grow the number of high earners. That should not be controversial; it is a necessity.
The Government will argue about our low unemployment rate, which sits at 3.8 per cent—that is great, but it ignores not just how many people are in or out of work but what their earnings are, how well off they feel and, to put it bluntly, their potential to pay tax into the Government coffers.
I am really nervous about how many well-educated, professional young Scots we will lose to the brain drain over the coming years. They are being attracted by glossy ads for the Gold Coast and Canada and by Spain’s flat-rate tax for digital nomads. Our challenge will be to encourage them to remain in Scotland, and if they are not already here, to encourage them to consider coming and making a life here.