Chamber and committees

So, are applications most likely to be successful if you see benefits to the Scottish economy overall, with regard to the revenue that they will bring in?

Thank you.

If that happened, would you also be in favour of the wealth tax that you have suggested in your paper?

The other issue, which you come to later in your tax paper, is business tax. The key issue for the Scottish economy just now is getting the right balance between the tax take or revenue, which you have suggested can be increased in various ways—I might disagree with you on some of that—and behavioural change, a really quite significant example of which the convener has pointed out. It is all about trying to project what would happen in various scenarios and I am keen to know what the STUC would pick out as a priority basis in that respect.

I am just not entirely clear whether, by making recommendations on changes to tax, you want to change taxation rates or you want specific structural changes to the overall tax basis. That is a key question, and a question that the Scottish Fiscal Commission is asking, too.

Do you accept that some of those countries have a better quality of public service delivery than we currently do in Scotland?

Yes.

My final question is about preventative spend. I find it incredibly difficult to measure, because it is almost an unknown. However, it matters as an opportunity cost as well as in considering how much money we could save because of it. Do you have any guidance as to what methodology we should use to look at preventative spend? It will matter for policy.

Mr Thomson, you have been excoriating in your criticisms of the situation as we face it. In section 4 of your submission, you say:

“We find this attempt to lure businesses to these sites on the back of taxpayer funded tax breaks abhorrent”.

That is pretty strong language. Do you actually believe in the concept of the green port, or do you think that the aims and objectives could be achieved by another means?

Thank you.