Greene: Government Must Act on Critical Audit Scotland Report

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP has called on the Scottish Government to address a shocking new Audit Scotland report on devolved taxes, which highlights the poor relative performance of the tax base, in areas such as growth in wages and employment, in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK.

The report Financial Sustainability and Taxes shows the impact of lower earnings and employment growth has on the Scottish Budget, termed the “tax base performance gap,” by the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC).

The report shows that in 2025/26, the Scottish Government expects to raise £1.7bn from Scottish Income Tax as a result of its policy choices yet the Scottish Budget is only projected to benefit by £616 million, a tax base performance gap of £1.08bn.

It further notes that the gap between the Scottish Government’s funding and its day-to-day spending is expected to rise from £1bn in 2026/27 to £2.6bn in 2029/30.

Financial Sustainability and Taxes asserts that the Scottish Government’s financial plans, “do not address the fiscal risks from devolved taxes.”

Audit Scotland was also highly critical of the Scottish Government’s approach to transparency and public information, claiming that it had, “not set out clearly enough how it plans to address this economic challenge in future years and what this would do to support fiscal sustainability.”

Mr Greene has urged the Scottish Government to respond in detail to the report and to commit to addressing both its concerns around financial management and relating to the provision of information.

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson, Jamie Greene, said:

“Much of the information contained in this report is seriously worrying, particularly regarding the impact that lower earnings and employment growth are having in Scotland. Scots are paying more and more taxes but that is not translating into more money to spend on public services.

“It is also extremely frustrating to hear that information provided by the Scottish Government was insufficient and that Scottish taxpayers are not as informed about the tax we pay as we should be. We should be able to see where every penny of our money is being spent.

“The Scottish Government must take these points very seriously and address them promptly and in full. Ministers cannot bumble on leaving a blackhole in the middle of our public finances.

“Scotland deserves better, which is why my party want a step change in how public money is spent, investing responsibly in our public services and growing our economy for generations to come.”