Unlocking the lockstep?

There are interesting changes to the ‘Calman’ model of income tax in the Wales bill (which had its Commons second reading on Monday) and the Finance bill (which had its Commons second reading on Tuesday).

The ‘Calman’ model applies a ‘lockstep’ to the devolved income tax rate, which has to be the same for all three tax bands (basic, higher and additional or 45 per cent). That rate can be 0 per cent, 10 per cent (as it is at present) or some other figure but it must be the same for all three bands – so if the devolved rate were nine per cent, you would have tax rates of 19, 39 and 44 per cent. While this question did not attract particular attention when the Scotland Act 2012 was going through the UK and Scottish Parliaments, it has been controversial in Wales. It was not recommended by either the Holtham or Silk Commissions, and has attracted criticism from the Commons Welsh Affairs Committee, the First Minister (who called the power with the lockstep ‘pretty useless’) and the Plaid Cymru and Welsh Conservative leaders.

The provisions in the Wales bill mark a change from the draft bill published before Christmas. Instead of providing for a single ‘Welsh rate of income tax’ across all three bands, the key operational clause now provides for Welsh basic, higher and additional rates and defines each of them separately (see clause 9 of the bill). Clause 289 and Schedule 34 of the Finance (No 2) bill make similar changes to the finance provisions of the Scotland Act 2012. (Both bills also provide for beefed-up arrangements for reports on devolved tax powers by the Comptroller and Auditor General, something that was conspicuously missing from the Scotland bill.)

The substantive policy behind the devolved rate of tax remains the same; the lockstep is still in place, and UK Government policy backs it strongly. But this change creates the legal basis for having different rates of tax for each band, if that policy decision were taken later, by altering the rule regarding what a ‘Welsh’ (or ‘Scottish’) ‘rate resolution’ would be.

The application to Scotland appears to be an inversion of the position that ‘Wales gets what Scotland gets’, which is apparent throughout the finance provisions of the Wales bill. Since what Scotland has is proving politically very difficult in a Welsh context, creating a framework for a possible different approach is an interesting move. In the light of ongoing debates about fiscal devolution to Scotland, though, including the Scottish Labour Party’s proposals to increase the devolved rate of income tax from 10 to 15 points and to allow the Scottish Parliament to vary higher and additional rates upward, there are obvious potential uses on the table in Scotland as well.

UPDATE: There’s coverage of this issue – quoting me extensively – here, which appeared on the front page of Wednesday’s Scotsman, and a cartoon and comment, here.  It’s interesting to note a firm denial of the idea that there is any plan to break the lockstep from HM Treasury, reported in the Scotsman story.  Ben Riley-Smith of the Telegraph has also tweeted a denial from No. 10.  I don’t doubt the policy remains to maintain the lockstep, but also that this creates a smoother path to break it if the policy were to change.