Higher rate income tax threshold reports: FOI release

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.


Information requested

1. An account of why the Higher Rate tax threshold is around £7k lower in Scotland than it is in the rest of the UK.

2. Copies of all reports, internal and external, prepared for or otherwise presented to Scottish Ministers which focus on the Higher Rate Income Tax threshold(s) and its impacts, from 2016 to present.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in your email below.

The answer to the first part of your request is as follows:

1. An account of why the Higher Rate tax threshold is around £7k lower in Scotland than it is in the rest of the UK.

Ministers consider a broad range of evidence when setting Scottish Income Tax policy and have designed a tax system that suits Scotland’s needs. Tax policy decisions carefully balance the need to raise revenue to invest in public services with the impact on taxpayers and households. The impact of any Income Tax policy decision is transparently presented in publications alongside the Scottish Budget. For Income Tax policy proposals in 2025-26 you may find the following documents helpful:

2. Copies of all reports, internal and external, prepared for or otherwise presented to Scottish Ministers which focus on the Higher Rate Income Tax threshold(s) and its impacts, from 2016 to present.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information to answer the second part of your request would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. This is due to the volume of documents that were returned in an initial trawl for in scope documents. Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. To do so, you may wish to narrow the scope or timeframe of the request.

You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at:
http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

Contact

Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000

The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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