Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:39 pm on 11 December 2018.
Thank you for that response. As you know, the Welsh Government will soon become responsible for raising a proportion of its revenue via income tax, and this is the final area of policy that I would like to raise with you in this Chamber. Thanks to the UK Government, income tax rates for working people across the UK have reduced significantly since 2010. More and more people in Wales are keeping more of what they earn with the tax-free personal allowance soon to increase to £12,500. Over 1.4 million people in Wales have benefited from the increases made to the personal allowance and higher rate threshold, and 41,000 people in Wales now pay no income tax at all. Coupled with the steady increases in the national living wage, which 81,000 people in Wales have benefited from, this has undoubtedly helped strengthen Wales's labour market and economy. Do you agree with me, First Minister, that Wales's long-term economic interests are best served by households and businesses being provided with a firm guarantee that income tax rates will remain low here in Wales?