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Published on 22 June 2015

What’s the Future of Local Taxation in Scotland?

LITRG has responded to a call for evidence issued by the Commission on Local Tax Reform, which has been set up by the Scottish Government to explore alternatives to Council Tax for Scotland. LITRG does not recommend any particular system of local taxation, but explores various options, identifying issues for consideration. In particular, we note the importance of taking into account interactions of local taxation with national taxation, tax credits, Universal Credit and other welfare benefits.

The Commission has indicated that the alternatives should deliver a “fairer” system of local taxation. LITRG points out the difficulties entailed in trying to define this subjective concept and suggests that it would be more appropriate to aim for a progressive system: that is one which recognises that society as a whole has to pay for certain people unable to care for themselves and that that burden should fall more on those that can afford it than on those that cannot.

The LITRG response can be found here.

Joanne Walker

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