Calman Commission
After many months of deliberation, the Calman Commission has this week reported back on the question of Scottish devolution. Last year the TPA produced a report on Scottish funding, financial devolution and the Barnett Formula which we submitted to the Commission. Our report reccomended full fiscal devolution, so that Scotland would gain control of its own taxes and therefore be able to control its own spending. As well as being desired by many Scots including the SNP, this would also be welcomed by taxpayers in England as it would signal an end to the vastly expensive Barnett Formula.
Calman’s report suggests partial fiscal devolution – Holyrood would gain the power to control many more of its own taxes and spending, though not all and not fully. In terms of taxation and representation, this is a good move. If any government spends money without having to think about the consequences of raising that money, then it will spend too much and too recklessly. It can only be right that the Scottish Parliament spends money drawn from its own voters – otherwise either English taxpayers will be made to pay too much tax, or Scottish voters will be disappointed that the scale of their own Budget is effectively decided in Westminster. This report is a step in the right direction, but there is still a way to go before the heavy burden of the Barnett formula is lifted from English taxpayers.
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