Taxing Question!

In September 1998, we voted Yes, Yes.

Yes to a Scottish Parliament and Yes to it having tax raising (or lowering) powers.

To date, no-one had ever seriously considered tampering with the taxation. This would be understandable in the infancy of a newly established parliament.

However, it has now been about for approaching 10 years and if ever there is a time when the electorate needed tax cuts, during a recession would be one of them.

That is presumably why the Lib Dems are arguing for a 2p income tax reduction as part of their budget negotiations. Now we all know how that went.

But what about this “tax raising powers”?

The SNP know all full well that it would be practically impossible for them to reduce income tax in Scotland.

Firstly, imagine the outcry from the rest of the UK. It is almost worth doing it for that!!

Secondly, it would just mean that the amount of money they would have for the following year’s budget would be reduced by about 10%. With no means of raising our own income we would be totally stuffed

Now, from what I heard on Newsnight Scotland, the Lib Dems have restricted their bargaining over the budget to the SNP making a strong submission to the Calman Commission for the Scottish Parliament to have greater tax raising powers.

Will the SNP even entertain the Calman Commission? Will the Lib Dems consider voting down the Scottish budget a second time?

Either way, until the issue of greater financial independence is addressed, no responsible Scottish Government can entertain reducing the income tax in Scotland.

Recession, Recession, Recession

Well my friends, it has been a little while!

But I am back, refreshed and slightly more impoverished, thanks to the credit crisis.

And didn’t that sneak up and bite everyone on the ar$e? PM Brown and his Labour colleagues claimed that they had re-written the laws of economics and ended boom and bust cycles.

“Great,” everyone rejoiced and went out and celebrated, stopping by to get a massive loan from the bank and 10 credit cards, to help keep the party going. After all, these are leaders of great importance not just in the UK, but on the world-wide stage. So, who are we to question their proclamations?

OK, OK, so I’ve learnt I can’t trust politicians, but surely I can trust banks? Some of them have been going since 1695. They will know what they are talking about. If they say I can afford a £200,000 mortgage on a £15,000 salary, who am I to argue? Just show me that mansion!

What?

It’s a bedsit? For £200k?

You better make it £200,010 so I can furnish it as well! I’ll get my stuff from Woolies.

Woolies is bust? And you want your £200k back? Wait a minute. Does the taxpayer not own you now anyway? So we have just ploughed £500bn pounds into you for you to pull the carpet out from under my feet?

Looks like I can’t trust banks now either!

Where on earth is it all heading? At this point in time, contrary to what some Labour Business Minister’s think, this recession is just starting and will have a long way to go.

Hold on folks. We are in for a rough ride.