5. Statement by the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd: Progress on Devolved Taxes

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:00 pm on 2 February 2021.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 5:00, 2 February 2021

I absolutely agree with Alun Davies that there are two sides to the coin, if you like, in terms of raising taxation here in Wales. One is about raising revenue, but the other, of course, is about behaviour change. Our landfill disposals tax speaks very strongly to that, because we want to see those figures actually going down. I'm keen to explore, in future, what more we can do with landfill disposals tax in terms of supporting that circular economy that we want to see.

Alun Davies referred specifically to our tax policy framework, which is underpinned by those five principles, and, actually, as a result of conversations that I've previously had with Alun Davies on the floor of the Senedd, and also some discussion in the Finance Committee, I have asked officials to start a piece of work that reviews those principles, to explore whether they are still the right principles for us going forward or whether we need to change and adapt them. Certainly, I think that that important role that tax has in terms of delivering that greener Wales that we want to see is up there with those potential principles for the future.

Then there was the important point about whether or not the inter-governmental relationships are working and to what extent the machinery that sits around and supports that is also working. I think that this certainly would be an area where we would want to see improved working with the UK Government, but it is an area that speaks very strongly to one of those areas where we need an independent arbiter now to explore the evidence that we've provided, which we believe fully meets everything that we're required to do under the Act, in terms of providing information and data and views and so forth in order to see the devolution of the power. I think that we need that outside view as to whether or not there is more that is required of us, or whether the stalling is purely political, as I believe it might be, on the part of the UK Government.