First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 25 April 2024.
Emma Harper
Scottish National Party
New research from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has shown that, in the period after Scottish income tax was introduced, thousands more taxpayers moved to Scotland than those who left each year. That seems to be somewhat at odds with the warnings from the Tories and even some Labour members that progressive taxation would deter taxpayers from coming to live here. Does the First Minister agree that that research confirms that Scotland is an attractive place to live and work, with a progressive approach to taxation that raises additional funds for public services?
Humza Yousaf
Scottish National Party
I agree with that. It flies in the face of some of the rhetoric that we hear from the Opposition, who claim that the fact that we have progressive taxation would somehow lead to an exodus of Scots. HMRC data has shown that more people from the rest of the United Kingdom want to come to Scotland as opposed to those who are leaving Scotland. I can tell you one thing, Presiding Officer: the Opposition absolutely hates that fact.
The simple fact is that people make choices about where to live and work based on a range of factors, not just tax. In Scotland, people have access to a range of services that simply do not exist in other parts of the UK, such as free prescriptions and free access to higher education. The latest HMRC data confirms that, on average, 4,200 more taxpayers have come to Scotland from the rest of the UK than have left since 2017-18. In 2021-22, which is the latest year for which data is available, net migration of taxpayers improved across all tax bands—which is crucial—and £200 million in additional taxable income was brought into Scotland. It is for others to set out how slashing taxes and running down our public services would make Scotland a better place to live, work, study and do business in. I do not think that that is the case.
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