EXPLAINED: What was the strange 'UFO' light moving over Ireland on Wednesday?
Search
30 Oct 2025
Search
30 Oct 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
The Scottish Government does not want to risk “upsetting the rich and powerful” by introducing wealth taxes, Ross Greer has claimed.
The Scottish Greens co-leader accused ministers of rejecting opportunities to increase taxes on the wealthy and reduce inequality.
The West Scotland MSP said Scotland is a “monumentally unequal country” with a “small number of people sitting on more wealth than they could spend in 1,000 lifetimes”.
He told the chamber: “This month SNP members instructed their leadership to begin discussions with the UK Government about wealth taxes, but Scottish Government ministers have repeatedly rejected opportunities to tax wealth with the powers that they already have.
“They have rejected proposals to end tax breaks for big landowners.
“They rejected proposals to end the King’s personal tax exemptions.
“They rejected proposals to introduce a mansion tax.
“It is like they are just hoping that the public will not notice that when push comes to shove, this is a Government that does not want to risk upsetting the rich and powerful.
“So can the First Minister name one proposal that he will bring forward before the election to tax wealth in Scotland?”
The First Minister said he is “at one” with Mr Greer over his concern about inequality.
He said he is committed to eradicating child poverty and added that decisions on tax in Scotland, which see those earning over £30,000 pay more than those in England, mean Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is falling.
But he suggested wealth taxes would not work, telling MSPs: “We have explored some of the practical aspects of the proposals that he has put to us, and we have not been able to find a pathway through that would work effectively without consequences that would be damaging to the policy intention.
“We have, of course, used land and building transaction tax, for example, to weight tax charges to the higher end of the income spectrum.
“Of course, as I say, we will consider these issues in relation to the formulation of the Government’s budget.”
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
