A busy week of news on the Scottish budget
Its been a busy week of news on the Scottish budget, with three significant announcements: on income tax outturn, budget revisions, and the scrapping of the UK Autumn Budget. What are the implications?
Income tax outturn 2018/19 & implications for the budget
Income tax outturn data for 2018/19 has been published. What does it tell us about the performance of the Scottish tax base, and what does it mean for the Scottish budget in 2021/22?
Labour market change by occupation during lockdown
Labour market data for the second quarter of 2020 indicates that the headline working age employment rate remained remarkably stable during the lockdown. But under the surface there have been significant changes in labour market activity – notably in terms of hours worked – and the pattern of these changes differs substantially across occupations. Employment in low-paid occupations has declined (offset by increased employment in high-paid occupations), whilst employees in low-paid occupations are much more likely to have been furloughed than those in higher paid occupations. This article documents these changes and discusses some implications.
Economy and Budget Round up
Graeme Roy is joined by colleagues Mairi Spowage and David Eiser to discuss what we currently know about economic conditions and outlook given the coronavirus crisis, and how this might impact on the Scottish Budget Outlook.
Does the case for reform of wealth taxation outweigh the practical challenges?
How should a wealth tax be designed? What and who should be taxed in principle, and would this be feasible in practice? And, given the interest in devolving greater revenue responsibility to the Scottish Parliament, would a wealth tax be suitable for devolution? This article considers some of these questions.
Fiscal event or not a fiscal event…. today’s announcements in a nutshell
The Chancellor today announced a number of measures designed to stimulate economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, whilst significant, it is clear that the Chancellor is keeping some options in his back pocket for the budget in the Autumn. And whilst it is right that we …
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Fiscal stimulus? Plus a note about ‘borrowing powers’…
We set aside some time yesterday to look over the Prime Minister’s economy announcements, following the trail that it would set out a plan for recovery. At the heart of the announcement was a £5bn “new deal” to build homes and infrastructure. But has been widely pointed out, there was …
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The outlook for the Scottish budget in 2020 and beyond
David Eiser, Fraser of Allander Institute, david.eiser@strath.ac.uk The outlook for the Scottish budget in 2020/21 has changed substantially since it was published in March. Higher spending and lower revenues will largely be offset by increased grant from the UK Government. The pandemic also accentuates the scale of several fiscal risks …
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Changes in working hours, causes and implications – an introduction to our new project
We have recently started a new year-long project to examine how patterns of weekly hours worked have been changing in recent decades, examine what factors help explain those trends, and to consider implications for poverty, inequality – and policy. Whilst the distribution of hourly pay receives a lot of attention …
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Spending Review 2019: how might it affect the Scottish Budget?
Wednesday’s Spending Review will influence the size of the Scottish budget in 2020/21. But it is just one piece of the jigsaw – with the other pieces not becoming available until later in the year. In normal times, the publication of a UK Government Spending Review would be a major …
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