VAT rise would hit the poorest

Submitted 19 May 2010

Bill Wilson's VAT motion to the Scottish Parliament reads as follows:

That the Parliament notes the warning issued by Save the Children in Scotland that raising VAT to 20% could mean a £31 a week bill for the poorest families in Scotland and that the poorest 10% of the population currently spend 14% of their disposable income on VAT, compared with only 5% for the richest, and calls on the UK Government not to raise VAT but to adopt progressive rather than regressive taxation policies and do all in its power to eliminate tax evasion and tax avoidance by the wealthy.