Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:51 pm on 11 March 2020.
Thank you, Minister. I was being mischievous when I mentioned the 'austerity' word—I knew that it would trigger a response similar to that. And some of what you say, in terms of growth, of course there's a basis there, and you're right to point those things out. But I do think that we need to look on the bright side as well. And there is good news in this UK budget, and hopefully the Welsh Government—key to my question—will actually be making use of the consequentials that are coming this way, to improve the situation here in Wales. Because Wales, of course, does have two Governments.
Minister, the Chancellor also announced a number of changes to national insurance and income tax, which, taken together, will mean that people who earn the minimum wage will now be £5,200 better off than they were in 2010. Moreover, beer duty and fuel duty are frozen for another year, so workers will see more money in their pockets in that way.
Here in Wales, we've been talking about the devolution of income tax, and the creation of new taxes. Do you feel that, often, the emphasis here is always on the creation of new taxes, and raising taxes? But there is also a tax-cutting agenda to be addressed, and the Welsh Government does have significant power at its disposal, in certain key tax areas, to reduce the burden on hard-working people in Wales, and to generate more income in the longer term by, of course, encouraging entrepreneurship, and providing businesses with more money to invest. We've heard about your view on taxes this year; could you tell us how you envisage using those tax powers in future, to reduce the tax burden on people in Wales, and to encourage economic growth?