Davidson calls for Holyrood tax-raising powers

It marks a shift for Ms Davidson, who has previously said the forthcoming Scotland Act, which will beef up Scotland’s control of taxation, should be a “line in the sand” on devolution.

Pro-Union parties are under growing pressure to set out their plans for greater devolution if Scots vote No in the referendum next year.

Ms Davidson will say in a keynote speech that Westminster should pass more control over taxation to Holyrood to make the latter more accountable.

“We will examine the mix of taxes best suited to achieving that goal, but the principle is clear,” she will say in a keynote speech in Edinburgh. “If you spend the public’s money, then you must be accountable to the public, both for how it is spent and how it is raised.

“The devolution of new powers over taxation to the Scottish Parliament means it would be the responsibility of the parliament to use those powers in the best interests of the Scottish people. New powers over tax should mean one thing: tax rates being reduced and the burden of tax being lifted for every Scottish family.

“We’ve already set out our proposal for a 1p cut in income tax for Scottish families, and new powers over tax in Scotland could let us go further.”

The new Scotland Act, passed last year, transferred tax and borrowing powers to Holyrood. It will see the Scottish rate of income tax effectively cut by 10p every year as the Budget comes before the Scottish Parliament. MSPs must then raise it back up to the required level in line with need. It was a central recommendation of the Calman Commission looking at the devolution settlement ten years on.

Too many MSPs at Holyrood are concerned with “how money should be spent”, Ms Davidson will add.

“A parliament with little responsibility for raising the money it spends will never be properly accountable to the people of Scotland,” she will add.

But SNP MSP Annabelle Ewing, who sits on the referendum bill committee, said the Tories were “split from top to bottom” on the issue.

She added: “It is not the infamous ‘line in the sand’ that has disappeared – it is the last vestiges of Ruth Davidson’s credibility.

“The only reason Ruth Davidson and others in the anti-independence parties are grudgingly talking about more powers for the Scottish Parliament is because we are going to have an independence referendum next year to achieve these very powers – and more.”