Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 1 March 2023.
Well, what I can say certainly is that the issue of income tax powers is an extremely complex area; it's complex in the context of the tax threshold base that we have within Wales. There is a distinction between the issue of increasing the rates of taxation and the issue of the banding of taxation, and that is certainly an area that would be far more beneficial, probably, to Wales than it would be in respect of individual rates. The one thing we don't want to see is taxation that would effectively impose a further burden on a society where we have so many people who are in the low-paid category who would be bearing a significant part of the burden of that taxation. So, any decision to seek more powers in the future would be considered as part of our broader long-term strategic tax policy priorities, rather than in response to the specific and immediate financial challenges. And I think that any argument to seek further powers cannot be divorced from the need to address the overall current inadequacies of the devolution arrangements that we have at the moment.