24 04 2017

Scottish Taxes Should Be Devolved To Councils, Says Think Tank

Scotland should devolve council tax and business rates to local authorities, campaigners say.

Independent think tank Reform Scotland has urged the Government to give councils complete control over the type and level of taxes levied on local residents.

The organization said in its Blueprint for Local Power that local authorities "should be raising more of what they spend."

At present, they raise only GBP1.40 of every GBP10 they spend, it said.

"Council tax and business rates should be devolved to local authorities, and thereafter they should be able to introduce new taxes, or scrap existing ones, to fit their local circumstances," said Director Geoff Mawdsley.