Today Scotland’s Poverty and Inequality Commission has released a new report which lays out recommendations for the Scottish Government to make better use of tax policy to reduce poverty and inequality.
Responding to the report, Lewis Ryder-Jones, Oxfam Scotland’s Policy Adviser, said: “There is growing consensus that if the Scottish Government is to deliver on its ambition to reduce poverty and inequality while tackling the climate crisis, then it’s going to need more money in the bank.
“We welcome today’s report from Scotland’s Poverty and Inequality Commission and agree that we must rethink Scotland’s tax system to maximise its potential as a tool to narrow inequality. But common-sense changes can also fairly raise hundreds of millions of pounds of extra revenue, both now and in the future.
“The upcoming Scottish Budget is a litmus test of the First Minister’s political courage and vision: he must seize the change to kickstart a series of wholesale tax reforms which will help build the fairer, greener, more equal Scotland we all want to live in.”
/ENDS
For more information and interviews, please contact: Rebecca Lozza, Oxfam Media and Communications Adviser, Wales and Scotland: rlozza1@oxfam.org.uk / 07917738450
Notes to Editor
- In September, over 50 organisations in Scotland called for the Scottish Government to use devolved powers to explore a range of options to raise additional revenue through fair tax reforms. Read The case for fair tax reform in Scotland here: https://bit.ly/fairscottishtax