Fair tax is part of the solution
In response to recent claims about Scotland’s tax system, Oxfam Scotland’s Lewis Ryder-Jones wrote to The Scotsman to make the case for fairer taxation, smarter public spending and long-overdue reform.
The letter highlights how Scotland can learn from countries that combine strong public services, fairer taxes and thriving economies and sets out what we think needs to happen next.
Read the full letter below.
Blaming Scotland’s modestly more progressive tax system for UK-wide economic stagnation is a red herring.
The reality is that our economic woes are driven by long-term underinvestment, inequality, and political drift, not by slightly higher taxes on top earners in Scotland.
In fact, compared to many similar countries, including those we often admire – like Germany or the Nordic nations – Scotland’s personal tax rates remain lower.
People in these countries often pay more in tax, while enjoying more disposable income overall because strong social infrastructure, like cheaper childcare and housing, reduce everyday costs. This in turn creates the basis for a dynamic economy, with thriving businesses and higher standards of living for most people.
Fair taxation isn’t the problem; it’s part of the solution, alongside smarter public spending. Scotland’s slightly fairer system is already raising hundreds of millions more to invest in public services and fund crucial payments to help lift children out of poverty.
But there’s still work to do. Council Tax is embarrassingly stuck in the 90s and deeply unfair. It’s time to scrap it and bring in a fairer, modern system that taxes properties based on what they’re actually worth.
We also need action on pollution-spewing private jets; the Scottish Parliament has had the power to tax them since 2017. It’s time to use it.
And business rates are ripe for reform: not because businesses pay more than in England, but because the system should reward employers who do the right thing, like paying the Living Wage and cutting pollution.
The Laffer Curve gets wheeled out as a warning, but the joke’s on us. Other countries are laughing because they’ve worked it out: fair taxes, strong public services, and a thriving economy can go hand in hand. It’s time Scotland did too.
Lewis Ryder-Jones
Oxfam Scotland
This letter originally appeared in The Scotsman.
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– After nearly two decades of false dawns, Scotland’s Council Tax remains stuck in the past. In fact, it’s so out of date that it’s still based on property values from 1991: before the Scottish Parliament even existed and when a pint cost just over a quid.
– New polling reveals people in Scotland would overwhelmingly prefer the very richest to pay more in tax rather than see cuts to public spending, as parallel Oxfam analysis shows the UK’s wealthiest people continue to amass even greater fortunes.