Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-18393

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18378 by Michael Matheson on 23 August 2018, what consideration it has made of whether the costs of such a bid would be funded through reduced spending in other budget areas or through further changes to tax policy.

Rail franchising and competition legislation are matters reserved to the UK Government. As a consequence, the UK Railways Act 1993 requires that rail franchise are let through open competition. The Scottish Government secured an amendment to that Act which allows Scottish or UK public sector organisations to bid for Scottish rail franchises. Funding for a bid is a commercial matter for each individual bidding organisation, whether that body is owned by the private or public sector. It is for these potential bidders to consider financing options, such as the use of available funds that exist within their organisation, or to secure a further loan or equity funding. There are no plans to reduce spend in other budget areas or to make further changes to tax policy in order to fund such costs.

Question reference: S5W-18377

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns that its 2018-19 income tax policy has led to a possibility that an estimated 900,000 people on the intermediate income tax band are at risk of spending a portion of their pension savings due to the 1% relief above the initial 20% being included in take-home pay as opposed to it being paid directly into their pension pots.

The Scottish Government supports pension saving. That is why the Scottish Government negotiated with the UK Government to ensure that in the current tax year relief at source would continue to be available to Scottish income taxpayers on exactly the same basis as is the case elsewhere in the UK.

The operation of relief at source, as with all income tax reliefs, remains reserved and therefore a matter for HMRC and the UK Government. However, income taxpayers in Scotland who fall into the intermediate band and are contributing to a pension will have their pension contributions grossed up so that the 20% basic rate tax paid on the contribution is also paid into their pension by HMRC. They can then claim any additional relief they are due back from HMRC.

Question reference: S5W-18373

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Tay Cities Deal will have on deprivation levels in Dundee.

Question reference: S5W-18374

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that people who are on the intermediate income tax band do not accidentally spend 1% of their pension payments relief.

The operation of relief at source, as with all income tax reliefs remains reserved and therefore a matter for HMRC and the UK Government. Income taxpayers in Scotland who are paying into a pension are treated in exactly the same way as income taxpayers in the rest of the UK. Their pension contributions are grossed up so that the 20% basic rate tax paid on the contribution is also paid into their pension by HMRC. If the taxpayers marginal rate of income tax is higher than 20% they can claim back the additional relief they are due from HMRC.

Question reference: S5W-18376

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reported reduction in the savings ratio will make it more likely that people on the intermediate income tax band will spend the 1% relief that they receive in their take-home pay from their pension payments instead of it automatically being saved in their pension pots.

The Scottish Government supports pension saving. That is why the Scottish Government negotiated with the UK Government to ensure that in the current tax year relief at source would continue to be available to Scottish income taxpayers on exactly the same basis as is the case elsewhere in the UK.

While the operation of relief at source remains reserved and therefore a matter for HMRC and the UK Government, income taxpayers in Scotland who fall into the intermediate band and are contributing to a pension will have their pension contributions grossed up so that the 20% basic rate tax paid on the contribution is also paid into their pension by HMRC. They can then claim any additional relief they are due back from HMRC.

Question reference: S5W-18375

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the income tax system in 2018-19 will impact on people on the intermediate band who receive the first 20% of relief in their pension pots and the remaining 1% in their take-home pay.

The operation of relief at source, as with all income tax reliefs remains reserved and therefore a matter for HMRC and the UK Government. Income taxpayers in Scotland who are paying into a pension are treated in exactly the same as income taxpayers in the rest of the UK. Their pension contributions are grossed up so that the 20% basic rate tax paid on the contribution is also paid into their pension by HMRC. Intermediate rate income taxpayers can claim back the additional relief they are due from HMRC in exactly the same way as higher and additional rate income tax payers do in the rest of the UK or higher and top rate income taxpayers can in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-18371

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the Tay Cities Deal.

Question reference: S5W-18372

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will fund projects in the Tay City Deal that fall within areas of devolved competence.

Question reference: S5O-02379

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it plans to introduce its non-domestic rates bill.

Question reference: S5W-18391

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18378 by Michael Matheson on 23 August 2018, what consideration it has made of the level of cost provisioning required for such a bid.

Competitive tendering for a rail franchise is a requirement under UK legislation. Available evidence suggests that this activity could be estimated to cost in the region of £10 million. The cost of any bid will depend on the nature of the bidding organisation and the approach that a bidder takes to developing a proposal that meets and/or exceeds the requirements of the Invitation to Tender. This estimate is therefore based on the most likely costs, using the market information available, to inform our consideration of the amount of funding the public sector bidder is likely to require.

Chamber and committees