7. UKIP Wales debate: new Welsh taxes

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:45 pm on 22 November 2017.

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Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 4:45, 22 November 2017

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I beg to move the motion standing in my name on the agenda. It has, as usual, been attempted to be amended by other parties by deleting our motion in its entirety and substituting their own. But there are parts of the amendments that I agree with.

I certainly agree with Plaid Cymru on tax devolution to Wales, and it provides an opportunity to enhance the accountability of the Welsh Government. That's an extremely good thing that they should be held responsible for raising the money that they spend so enthusiastically. I agree that there should be consultation on any innovative taxes that the Welsh Government might introduce, and I certainly support Plaid Cymru and indeed the Government in their desire to devolve air passenger duty to Wales and indeed corporation tax to Wales. I've strongly supported this because that would enable us to abolish air passenger duty, where I would be at one with the Welsh Government, and to reduce corporation tax to, as I've said many times before, compensate for some of the historical complications and difficulties that we face in Wales.

As regards the Conservative amendments, again, I accept most of those, though I'm rather surprised to see the Conservative Party believing that a comprehensive tax base encourages greater prosperity. When I was in the Conservative Party, I thought we were the low tax party that wanted to reduce the impact of taxation upon the economy because of its effect upon incentives and so on, but times change and sometimes parties change with them, evidently. So I—