Scottish budget falls short of long-term reform, ICAS says

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) praised the Scottish budget for proposing some positive investment decisions, yet said that it “once again lacked the vision or detail required to satisfy the need for long-term solutions”. 

ICAS CEO Bruce Cartwright said it was a “relief” that no additional income tax bands have been introduced to what is “an already overcomplicated income tax system” in Scotland. 

Cartwright said: “It was clear this was always going to be a tricky budget for the Finance Secretary, Shona Robison, with faltering public services, the lack of a substantial Scottish tax base and only a handful of levers to play with. What resulted was an uninspiring budget which fell short of offering long-term certainty for businesses or a coherent strategy for public service reform.

“We called for the budget to put an end to current fiscal short-termism and hoped that it would offer certainty for businesses and public services to plan beyond the next 12 months, which sadly it falls short in doing. We think major public sector structural and spending reform is needed.”

He added: “A long-term tax strategy, which includes a complete review of income tax bands and how we grow our tax base is also long overdue.”