Cross-party tax commission publishes local taxation report

The Commission on Local Tax Reform today published Just Change: A New Approach to Local Taxation.

The cross-party commission, established jointly by the Scottish government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), brought together representatives from across the political spectrum to look at options for a fairer local tax system.

Minister for Local Government Marco Biagi, one of the commission’s co-chairs, said: “The First Minister established this commission to allow an informed debate on the future of local taxation.

“We welcome the fact that four of the five parties in the parliament have taken part and come to an agreement on a set of crucial principles – that local tax should be more progressive, broader and more empowering to local government.”

He added: “The Scottish government has sought to mitigate the worst impacts of the council tax over the last eight years, with the council tax freeze benefitting average households by £1,200.

“We will consider the findings of the report carefully and we will set out our detailed proposals for reform by the end of the parliamentary term, embodying the principles of the commission’s report.”