Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 1:38 pm on 30 January 2019.

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Photo of Nick Ramsay Nick Ramsay Conservative 1:38, 30 January 2019

Thank you, Minister. I fully appreciate that you have in the past said, and your predecessor has said, that the intention is not to increase income tax, but it does seem that the ground has moved slightly on this. Certainly, the vocabulary has changed. The First Minister, shortly after he came into post, recently said that it is not the intention to do so. You have again said today that it is not your intention to raise it, but that does mean that the door is left open. Should the economic situation change over the next couple of years, will you fundamentally rule out raising income tax levels before the next Assembly election, or are you saying that the door is open? It's a very important question to be answered, because businesses out there and the public are concerned about this issue.