Part of 11. 9. Debate: Stage 3 of the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Bill – in the Senedd at 4:44 pm on 28 March 2017.
Thank you, Llywydd. I appreciate the fact that the Cabinet Secretary respects the spirit of the amendment. I think it is very clear that we intend to do as much as we can in terms of policy objectives and our new fiscal powers. Apologies to the Member for Monmouth that I wasn’t sufficiently clear in my opening remarks—I thought it was quite clear in terms of the intentions underpinning our amendment. We are very aware of the different circumstances across the counties of Wales and within the counties of Wales, in terms of higher-band properties and residential property.
With what the Cabinet Secretary has said, first of all, I very warmly welcome the fact that he will proactively inform local authorities in Wales of the possibilities and that the Government is open to having specific discussions on an issue that is very important to Plaid Cymru. Secondly, I think the pledge to ensure that the Government has a work plan on taxation, and that that will take this into account in terms of policy and within the fiscal context, is an important pledge and one that I welcome very much—and, of course, the fact that we will have real data in Wales for the first time on the impact of this tax.
Therefore, with the Assembly’s consent, and with your consent, Llywydd, I would like to withdraw my amendment.