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Tax Justice Scotland launches with calls to better finance public services

  • Area of Work: Policy and Research
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 26th November 2024

The ALLIANCE have joined a new campaign group urging action on fair taxation to fund essential services including health and social care.

Tax Justice Scotland, a new campaign calling for a fair approach to taxation in Scotland, has been launched today (26 November) by a coalition of organisations across Scotland, including the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE). The campaign has launched with an open letter to Scotland’s political party leaders, and a briefing that makes the case for fundamental reform to taxation in Scotland.

The ALLIANCE have repeatedly expressed our concern about the pressures on public finances and services, including in a statement issued earlier this year. Essential services like the NHS and social care are in urgent need of further investment and reform, and welcome progress towards a fully human rights based social security system must be accelerated.

We have urged the Scottish Government to embed a human rights budgeting approach, linking taxation and revenue raising policies to the services that contribute to the realisation of everyone’s rights, including in our pre-budget scrutiny evidence to Scottish Parliament committees. The ALLIANCE have joined the steering group for Tax Justice Scotland to work with like-minded organisations and people to advocate for the changes needed.

In a briefing paper, Tax Justice Scotland has set out five initial priorities for action:

  • Immediately launch a revaluation of properties across Scotland, as a critical interim step towards the replacement of the unfair Council Tax,
  • Be bold on changes to existing taxes, including but not limited to Income Tax,
  • Publish a time-bound and ambitions plan to tax wealth more effectively in Scotland,
  • Set out concrete options to raise more revenue to invest in climate action,
  • and develop proposals for new or reformed local taxes to incentivise businesses towards positive social and environmental behaviours.

On behalf of Tax Justice Scotland, Lewis Ryder-Jones, Oxfam Scotland’s Advocacy Adviser, said:

“Scotland can lead the way in the UK and internationally. It’s time for our leaders to stop dodging the hard but necessary decisions, and instead start making the case that fairer taxes are good for the economy. We need grown-up tax governance that takes Scotland’s future seriously; moving beyond piecemeal, patchwork fixes and instead delivering a tax system that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.”

Tax Justice Scotland brings together a diverse group of supporters which further includes the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Oxfam Scotland, Poverty Alliance, Scottish Women’s Budget Group, Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC) and the Church of Scotland.

You can find out more about the campaign on the Tax Justice Scotland website. You can also find out more about the ALLIANCE’s work in our Fair Finance workstream elsewhere on our website.

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