Income Tax (Charge)

Joanna Cherry Excerpts

Thursday 4th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Joanna Cherry (Edinburgh South West) (SNP) [V]]

This Budget is a missed opportunity. There is no vision, no long-term economic plan and no Biden boost. While I welcome the extension of furlough and the universal credit uplift, yesterday’s announcement simply shunts the cliff edge down the line and does nothing to tackle the fundamental problems that families and business face. The Chancellor has failed to build the bridge to the future that the economy needs. Businesses such as the Edinburgh Beer Factory, a brewery in my constituency, will see their costs balloon before demand returns. They need tapered reliefs and long-term solutions.

I welcome the increase in corporation tax, because businesses in profit can most afford to pay up. In Scotland, we have provided certainty and stability to business with a further 12-month extension of 100% non-domestic rates relief for retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation. The Chancellor has failed to do the same in England, and he needs to up his game for English business. Where is the promised online tax? Many high street retailers are frustrated when they see how companies such as Amazon and Apple have benefited from the pandemic, but still somehow seem to avoid taxation. The way retail is operating now has completely changed, and we need to think about how we tax the new reality. Too much focus on business rates for revenue raising could prevent the much-needed revival for small businesses on our high streets and in our city centres.

Some of Edinburgh’s biggest financial services employers operate in my constituency, and there was a vibrant community of independent local businesses serving their offices. One of these is the Wee Coffee Bar, run by my constituent Sharon Miller. Yet with most offices closed, footfall in our business district has dropped to almost zero, and successful popular businesses such as Sharon’s are struggling to make ends meet. Lockdown has had a big impact on our mental health and wellbeing. Hot Yoga Edinburgh, owned by Allison Harrison, adapted to the best of her ability to meet online needs, but she is suffering real financial hardship as the cost of rent and other overheads exceed the money coming in. She needs the certainty of longer-term support and a credible plan for the recovery of our business districts to help her stay afloat.

Many of my self-employed constituents, including creatives, freelancers and company directors, remain excluded from covid support, and as in so many aspects of this pandemic, women are disproportionately affected. This crisis offered us the opportunity to change our economy and invest for the future. An independent Scotland would take this opportunity and carefully plan a way forward. Constrained in this Union, we are locked into more of the same from this Chancellor for the time being.