MSP Derek wants income tax debate

Renfrewshire MSP Derek Mackay is asking political leaders about changes to income tax in Scotland.

The Holyrood Finance Secretary is asking opponents to nail down their proposals about how public services such as schools and hospitals are paid for.

He also wants to find out what Scottish Labour, the Tories, Lib Dems and the Greens would like to see as their top rate of tax.

The SNP member for Renfrewshire North and West said:“This is the start of a cross-party discussion around how we continue to fund high quality public services across Scotland, and I want to ensure that proposals from all parties are represented.

“This is a chance for the Scottish Parliament to have a serious debate about taxation and public services and I hope that all parties will participate constructively in that discussion.”

He added he hopes the results will help shape discussions on tax ahead of this year’s budget and they may enable a cross party position to emerge.

Mr Mackay said it was important that political leaders inform him if their party’s income tax policy has changed since the 2016 election, which was presented in last year’s budget talks.

The discussion paper will be published later this year, ahead of the 2018/19 draft budget.