Scottish tax reform

This is interesting, and a bit different. Today First Minister Nicola Sturgeon outlined different options the government is considering for changing income tax in Scotland.

Fairer taxes mean better schools, public transport, hospitals. It’s how you make a more equal society. But too often politicians shy away from honest conversations on tax. That means this is an exciting moment for 38 Degrees members to have our say.

There’s no skirting it: while these proposals mean more funds for services we all rely on, they also mean some better-off people paying more. We know that’s something most of us are happy with. But there will also be a few, self-interested voices screaming out against this. That’s why it’s important that we all speak up to support fairer taxes.

The Scottish Government has published 4 options. The final decision happens next month. Below, there’s a quick summary of what each option involves. Will you take 2 minutes to read through them and vote for the one you would like the most?

We’ll send over the results to Nicola Sturgeon and other Scottish party leaders, and use them to decide if 38 Degrees supports a particular option.

Option 1 means:

• No increases for people earning under £44,290 per year
• 1p more tax for every pound you earn over £44,291
• This would raise up to £90million extra per year for schools, hospitals, etc

Vote for Option 1

Option 2 means:

• No increases for people earning under £24,000 per year
• 1p more tax for every pound you earn over £24,001
• 3p or 5p more tax for every pound you earn over £150,000
• This would raise between £190million and £270million extra per year for schools, hospitals, etc

Vote for Option 2

Option 3 means:

• No increases for people earning under £24,000 per year
• 1p more for every pound you earn over £24,001
• 2p more for every pound you earn over £44,291
• 5p more for every pound you earn over £150,000
• This would raise up to £290 million extra per year for schools, hospitals, etc

Vote for Option 3

Option 4 means:

• A 1p tax cut for people earning under £15,000 per year
• No increases for people earning under £24,000
• 1p more for every pound you earn over £24,001
• 2p more for every pound you earn over £44,291
• 5p more for every pound you earn over £150,000
• This would raise up to £220 million extra per year for schools, hospitals, etc

Vote for Option 4

Not keen on any of these options?

Vote for “none of the above”

38 Degrees will count up the votes, and submit them direct to all the Scottish political leaders. In addition, your vote will help decide if 38 Degrees backs a specific option.

There’s more to do to make Scotland’s taxes fairer. Your vote today will help decide what we do next together. But it’s also worth celebrating today how far we’ve got. Two months ago, thousands of us signed an open letter to Nicola Sturgeon calling for her to bring forward bold proposals on tax, and to give us a chance to have a say on them. It looks like we’re making progress, doesn’t it?