On 11 November 2004, a Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament which, if it became law, would replace Council Tax in Scotland with a type of local income tax that would be collected through the payroll, paid to HMRC and forwarded to the appropriate local authorities in Scotland.

The Bill was introduced by a Scottish Socialist Party member of the Scottish Parliament. It was not, however, an Executive Bill and was not endorsed by Parliament.

Progress of the Bill was the responsibility of the Local Government and Transport Committee. Stage 1 of the Scottish legislative procedure involves the publication of a report by the Parliamentary Committee and this was published on 24 January 2006. The report concluded that the Bill "is a flawed proposal, which would not have the impact on poverty that is claimed, would damage the Scottish economy and undermine local democracy". The Committee recommended that it be rejected by Parliament at Stage 1.

The Stage 1 report was debated in the Scottish Parliament on 1 February. At the conclusion of the debate there was a division and the motion to accept the principles of the Bill was disagreed by 94 votes to 12, with 6 abstentions. As a result the Bill fell and cannot progress further.

...back to 9 February 2006

Source:
Official Report 1 February 2006

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