Reforming Local Taxation

As an amendment to motion S5M-01580 in the name of Derek Mackay (Reforming Local Taxation), insert at end “further notes the SNP manifesto commitments to scrap the Council Tax in both 2007 and 2011 and that the Scottish Government has failed to deliver on those pledges; recognises that its current proposals for reform “fall short of making the Council Tax a ‘proportionate’ tax” as noted by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe); acknowledges that, in her report, the Scottish Government’s poverty adviser said that the “Council Tax is widely viewed as no longer fit for purpose” and to “be bold on local taxation”; recognises the level of cuts to funding that local authorities have faced in recent years and the consequent impact on the services that local people rely on; commits the Scottish Government to bring forward reform that is more progressive than the current proposals as well as using the powers of the Parliament to invest in Scotland's economy and its people.”