Scots’ tax bill

Scott Macnab’s article on whether Scots should pay more tax than elsewhere in the UK (Scotsman, 27 September) further highlights the flawed devolution settlement imposed by Westminster, whereby the Scottish Government is expected to mitigate Tory austerity and build a fairer society but has extremely limited taxation or wealth creation powers, as they were opposed by Labour and Conservative MPS during the Scotland Bill.

As Scott Macnab points out, a hike in the higher tax rate would raise very little, as the richest will manage to reorganise their tax affairs much more easily in Scotland than in any normal country, as Westminster still controls national insurance, VAT, corporation tax, inheritance tax, capital gains tax, fuel duty, excise duties and wealth taxes.

In addition, Scotland’s resource block grant is to be cut by 2.9% over the next four years and Jeremy Corbyn has just backed the Welsh Labour First Minister’s refusal to end the pay cap in Wales, saying that without extra money from Westminster it could lead to job losses in the public sector.

Now Labour hopeful Richard Leonard MSP wants the Scottish Government to buy back Labour’s PFI contracts, which would cost Scottish taxpayers in the region of £30billion, not forgetting the complexity of a 130-year lease granted over the land at Royal Edinburgh Infirmary, as Labour’s PFI debt legacy remains a significant drain on our local health board and local authority budgets including education.

FRASER GRANT Warrender Park Road, Edinburgh