Meetings

NDM8898 Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
To propose that the Senedd:

1. Regrets that:

a) Welsh pay packets are the lowest in Great Britain;

b) business deaths continue to outpace business births; and

c) if council tax had risen by the same rate in Wales as has been the case in England since 2010, the average Band D household in Wales would be £350 a year better off.

2. Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) deliver efficiency savings, outside of health, schools and farming budgets, to deliver a 1 pence cut in the basic rate of income tax;

b) restore business rate relief to 75 per cent for the retail hospitality and leisure sector;

c) eliminate business rates for small businesses; and

d) ensure local referendums for councils proposing council tax rises by over 5 per cent in a single financial year.

The following amendments were tabled:

Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)

Delete all and replace with:
To propose that the Senedd:
1. Notes:
a) the average Band D council tax bill in Wales this year is £110 lower than in England and more than 256,000 low-income households in Wales receive support with their bills through the council tax reduction scheme;
b) the business birth rate in 2023 in Wales was higher than in the south-east and south-west regions of England, and higher than in Northern Ireland; and
c) growth in average weekly earnings for full-time adults in Wales has outpaced the UK over the last 10 years.
2. Recognises:
a) ratepayers in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors have received more than £1 billion in additional business rates support over the last six years and almost half of all ratepayers pay no business rates at all.
b) Welsh rates of income tax are forecast to contribute more than £3 billion to the Welsh budget this year; and
c) local authorities are accountable to the people of Wales when setting budgets and council tax, based on the needs of local services.

If amendment 1 is agreed, amendment 2 will be de-selected.

Amendment 2 Heledd Fychan (South Wales Central)

Delete all and replace with:
Propose that the Senedd:
1. Notes:
a)  that tax as a proportion of UK GDP reached its highest level in over 70 years under the previous UK Conservative Government;
b) the projected impact of the current UK Government’s increase to employer national insurance contributions on average wage growth; and
c) the continued burden of Brexit on Welsh trade and investment, and the cost to Welsh businesses and taxpayers of having to comply with additional red tape outside of the EU Single Market.
2. Regrets:
a) the UK Labour Government’s broken promise not to increase taxes on working people; and
b) the UK Labour Government’s decision to Barnetise Treasury core public sector reimbursements to national insurance contributions, which has left Wales facing a £65 million shortfall.
3. Believes:
a) the present limitations of the Welsh Government’s tax-varying powers are an impediment to effective policy-making in Wales, and
b) that the Senedd should possess the devolved competence to set its own income tax bands, in line with the powers already devolved to the Scottish Parliament under the Scotland Act 2012.
4. Calls on the Welsh Government to:
a) initiate the process outlined in the Government of Wales Act 2006 to seek powers currently reserved to Westminster to enable the Senedd to set all rates and bands for Welsh income tax.
b) establish a preferential business rates multiplier for SMEs; and
c) re-engage with the programme of council tax reform.

The item started at 16.54

Voting on the motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time.

A vote was taken on the motion without amendment:

NDM8898 Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)
To propose that the Senedd:

1. Regrets that:

a) Welsh pay packets are the lowest in Great Britain;

b) business deaths continue to outpace business births; and

c) if council tax had risen by the same rate in Wales as has been the case in England since 2010, the average Band D household in Wales would be £350 a year better off.

2. Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) deliver efficiency savings, outside of health, schools and farming budgets, to deliver a 1 pence cut in the basic rate of income tax;

b) restore business rate relief to 75 per cent for the retail hospitality and leisure sector;

c) eliminate business rates for small businesses; and

d) ensure local referendums for councils proposing council tax rises by over 5 per cent in a single financial year.

The motion without amendment was not agreed.

The following amendments were tabled:

Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)

Delete all and replace with:
To propose that the Senedd:
1. Notes:
a) the average Band D council tax bill in Wales this year is £110 lower than in England and more than 256,000 low-income households in Wales receive support with their bills through the council tax reduction scheme;
b) the business birth rate in 2023 in Wales was higher than in the south-east and south-west regions of England, and higher than in Northern Ireland; and
c) growth in average weekly earnings for full-time adults in Wales has outpaced the UK over the last 10 years.
2. Recognises:
a) ratepayers in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors have received more than £1 billion in additional business rates support over the last six years and almost half of all ratepayers pay no business rates at all.
b) Welsh rates of income tax are forecast to contribute more than £3 billion to the Welsh budget this year; and
c) local authorities are accountable to the people of Wales when setting budgets and council tax, based on the needs of local services.

A vote was taken on amendment 1:

Amendment 1 was agreed.

As amendment 1 was agreed, amendment 2 was de-selected.

A vote was taken on the motion as amended:

To propose that the Senedd:
1. Notes:
a) the average Band D council tax bill in Wales this year is £110 lower than in England and more than 256,000 low-income households in Wales receive support with their bills through the council tax reduction scheme;
b) the business birth rate in 2023 in Wales was higher than in the south-east and south-west regions of England, and higher than in Northern Ireland; and
c) growth in average weekly earnings for full-time adults in Wales has outpaced the UK over the last 10 years.
2. Recognises:
a) ratepayers in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors have received more than £1 billion in additional business rates support over the last six years and almost half of all ratepayers pay no business rates at all.
b) Welsh rates of income tax are forecast to contribute more than £3 billion to the Welsh budget this year; and
c) local authorities are accountable to the people of Wales when setting budgets and council tax, based on the needs of local services.

The motion as amended was agreed.