Scotland's Tax Strategy 2024: equality impact assessment

Executive summary

In 2023, the Scottish Government published its Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)^[1], which outlined our three-pillar approach to ensuring that the public finances are on a sustainable trajectory. Scotland’s Tax Strategy (“the Tax Strategy”) delivers on the pillar “to maintain and develop our strategic approach to tax”, sitting alongside pillars that focus spending decisions on Government priorities and prioritise economic activities to broaden the tax base.

The Tax Strategy sets out our medium-term ambitions for how the tax system should develop to support the delivery of our four government priorities: eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, tackling the climate emergency, and ensuring high quality and sustainable public services.

The actions set out in the Tax Strategy build on the principles set out in the Framework for Tax^[2]. They will support the progression to a tax system which aligns policy aims with outcomes, is informed by robust evidence and engagement with others, and enables us to take a system wide and comprehensive approach to tax policy in Scotland.

These will be prioritised around five areas:

• Priorities for the Existing System.
• The Economy and the Tax System.
• Administration of the Existing Tax System.
• Evidence and Evaluation.
• Future Priorities.

The Tax Strategy fits into the following National Performance Framework areas:

• Economy – by aligning tax policymaking with our economic strategy, we will support a more globally competitive Scotland, entrepreneurial communities, and an inclusive and sustainable economy.
• Fair Work and Business – by outlining the link between the economy, tax policy, and work programmes on competitiveness.
• Poverty – as it pertains to future skills development and expanding the tax base.