Wealth Taxation for Public Services

Jenny Gilruth S7M-00249 That the Parliament believes in fair, progressive and sustainable taxation to support the delivery of public services; welcomes the progress made towards the creation of a private jet tax and a mansion tax; supports actions to go further and seek the powers necessary to take action on so-called ghost flights of private planes; recognises that Scotland’s current powers limit the scope for additional wealth taxation, and endorses the Scottish Government’s plans to explore what further steps could be taken either within the current system or with full fiscal powers. Further details available for S7M-00249 Kim Schmulian S7M-00249.2 As an amendment to motion S7M-00249 in the name of Jenny Gilruth (Wealth Taxation for Public Services), leave out from “believes" to end and insert “notes the data published by HMRC and research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which show that each 1% increase in income tax results in a 0.77% reduction in tax revenue; believes that this acts as a disincentive to growth and contributes to economic stagnation and loss of opportunities for everyone; further believes that increasing taxation for some people has a wider impact on everyone; considers that evidence suggesting that, in retrospect, increases in wealth taxes can lead to a significant flight of tax revenues, contradicts previous assessments by the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) that increasing taxation would result in only a minimal flight of tax revenue, and calls on the SFC to review its approach to modelling of using contradictory real data against its hypothetical forecasts." Further details available for S7M-00249.2 Michael Marra S7M-00249.4 As an amendment to motion S7M-00249 in the name of Jenny Gilruth (Wealth Taxation for Public Services), insert at end "; notes that the Scottish Government’s Medium Term Financial Strategy, published in June 2025, projected a funding gap of over £4.7 billion by 2029-30; considers that developing a sustainable plan to close this gap is essential to Scotland’s public services and that it is incumbent on all parties in the Parliament to work towards this goal; believes that, to this end, the Scottish Government should take a strategic approach across all devolved taxation in Scotland to include an immediate and comprehensive review of business rates, including consideration of measures such as widening the scope of Fresh Start relief to include businesses that occupy an empty unit within six months of the unit becoming vacant, and further believes that the Scottish Government should convene cross-party talks on council tax reform immediately." Further details available for S7M-00249.4 Patrick Harvie S7M-00249.1 As an amendment to motion S7M-00249 in the name of Jenny Gilruth (Wealth Taxation for Public Services), insert at end "; recognises that significant scope exists for further action within devolved powers, such as surcharges within the non-domestic rates system; further recognises that political support has grown for a so-called Amazon tax, as proposed in both the 2026 Scottish Green Party and Scottish National Party manifestos, and believes that progressive reform of property tax could play a powerful role in wealth taxation, and that the Scottish Government must not allow council tax valuations to reach the milestone of being 40 years out of date by the end of the current parliamentary session.” Further details available for S7M-00249.1 Craig Hoy S7M-00249.3 As an amendment to motion S7M-00249 in the name of Jenny Gilruth (Wealth Taxation for Public Services), leave out from “, progressive” to end and insert "and low taxation, which incentivises work and investment; rejects the left-wing ‘Holyrood’ consensus, which believes that Scotland can tax its way to economic growth; calls on the Scottish Government to use its existing devolved taxation powers to reduce income tax to stimulate growth, and rules out any further devolution of fiscal powers, which have already created a damaging tax differential, which undermines Scotland's ability to retain and attract high earners and wealth creators.” Further details available for S7M-00249.3 Willie Rennie S7M-00249.5 As an amendment to motion S7M-00249 in the name of Jenny Gilruth (Wealth Taxation for Public Services), leave out from “welcomes” to end and insert “notes that fair taxation must recognise the current cost of living crisis and the impact that any tax increases can have on individuals and businesses; believes that the Scottish Government must prioritise getting Scotland’s finances in order, in light of warnings by the Institute of Fiscal Studies that it faces a 'fiscal reckoning'; considers that taxpayers in Scotland deserve value for money as well as confidence that their taxes are being spent wisely, and believes that the trust that taxpayers should have in a government to spend wisely has been lost over the last 19 years of an SNP administration.” Further details available for S7M-00249.5