But that number isn’t a fact, it’s a hypothesis. We don’t have evidence that the change reduced Scotland’s revenue.
The 48% rate was part of a wider package of tax changes, including a new 45% rate for people earning between £75,000 and £125,000. That package was designed to raise revenue, and evidence suggests it is.
We also hear claims that Scotland’s highest earners are heading south. But the evidence doesn’t show a mass exodus. HMRC’s most recent migration figures show more top-rate taxpayers moving to Scotland from elsewhere in the UK than moving the other way. In that year, the number of top-rate taxpayers in Scotland increased by around 17%.
But there’s a bigger question here: what is tax actually for?
It’s how we pay for a Scotland where children don’t grow up in poverty, public services are funded, and inequality and climate change are tackled.
Those with the broadest shoulders can afford to contribute the most and many want to: recently over 100 millionaires called on the Prime Minister to tax them more.
But fair taxation is about more than income tax alone. If we want to fund public services and tackle poverty, we should also pursue other reforms, including replacing council tax with a fairer tax on property wealth. No single measure will deliver a fairer Scotland, but asking those with the greatest resources to contribute more is part of the answer.
There’s growing support for this principle: 85% of Scots support higher taxes on the wealthy, while two-thirds would rather see higher taxes than public service cuts.
If we want a fairer Scotland, we need to be willing to pay for it.
