Gaelic is more than a language, it is part of our nation's identity
READ MORE: MSPs pass bill giving Gaelic and Scots official status in Scotland
For those detractors who say it is a dead and useless language and a financial drain, I say shame on you. Through centuries of oppression and abuse, Gaelic has survived, and now with music and the arts and a longing for independence, there is a resurgence.
Only in knowing the history of your country can there ever be confidence in its future destiny. Wrapped around its ancient Celtic identity, Scotland remains a reawakening nation that has, in the past, given much to the world.
Grant Frazer
Newtonmore
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The National
4 hours ago
- The National
Gaelic is more than a language, it is part of our nation's identity
READ MORE: MSPs pass bill giving Gaelic and Scots official status in Scotland For those detractors who say it is a dead and useless language and a financial drain, I say shame on you. Through centuries of oppression and abuse, Gaelic has survived, and now with music and the arts and a longing for independence, there is a resurgence. Only in knowing the history of your country can there ever be confidence in its future destiny. Wrapped around its ancient Celtic identity, Scotland remains a reawakening nation that has, in the past, given much to the world. Grant Frazer Newtonmore
Scotsman
5 hours ago
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Why targeting wealthy non-doms means we'll all pay higher taxes
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Winston Churchill was right when in 1906 he said, 'for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle'. Time and again governments have discovered that introducing new taxes or increasing existing ones lead to behavioural changes by those who are liable to pay them. The result is that there is less of what is being taxed and that the revenues are inevitably lower than estimated. It could be Britain's 18th-century window tax, which resulted inevitably in fewer windows – as people bricked them up to cut their tax bill. Or it could be the taxes on candles, tea, hair powder, dog's tails, hearths and bricks. The list goes on. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Then there's the behavioural change that could be the result of forcing Scottish taxpayers earning more than £30,318 to pay more in tax than they would in England. It's no surprise that some Scots have chosen to become English taxpayers, including people working for the Scottish Government or its agencies. Increasing taxes is not the way to create a more prosperous future (Picture: Henry Nicholls) | AFP via Getty Images Budget cuts and higher taxes This is called 'capital flight' and has reportedly led to Scots settling just across the Border and working from home, only occasionally travelling for a meeting in Scotland. Not only do these people take their tax payments elsewhere, it also means they spend more in their new location, depriving Scottish businesses of their economic activity. The SNP has been warned about the impact on countless occasions, including by its own advisors – the result is that tax revenues are inevitably lower than estimated, resulting in unplanned expenditure cuts and higher taxes to make up the difference. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The same phenomenon is now being seen with the UK Government's tax changes for those known as 'non-doms'. The strict definition can be complex but simply put it means people of foreign birth living in the UK but not considered domiciled here because they will eventually return home. Being a non-dom meant you could have a remittance-based tax payment where you would pay British taxes on your earnings within the UK, but not on your earnings outside the UK. For especially wealthy people, often known as ultra-high, net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), this meant they might be paying very large tax bills in the hundreds of thousands (or more) on their UK earnings to our Treasury but also paying taxes in other countries where their overseas earnings were sourced. Millionaires and billionaires leaving Due to proposals first introduced by Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and confirmed by Labour's Rachel Reeves, the remittance-based tax regime for non-UK-domiciled people was abolished in April. Hunt had said it would raise £2.7 billion additional revenue when he was Chancellor, Reeves predicted £2.6bn and the Office of Budget Responsibility estimated £9bn in the first year and £33.9bn over the Parliament but with a 'very high' uncertainty factor because of the unknown behavioural responses of non-doms. The Institute of Fiscal Studies estimated only £1.8bn. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But taxing for prosperity does not work. In 2024, 10,800 millionaires and 12 billionaires left the UK – taking their direct tax payments, significant investments and economic activity with them. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) estimated a loss to Treasury revenues of £12.2bn by 2029, arguing that if 25 per cent of non-doms left the UK, the tax changes would start to cost the Treasury money. Initial estimates put the departures at 10 per cent, but they are continuing to leave at a worrying pace. An Oxford Economics study found that 98 per cent of those studied said that, in reaction to the Tory/Labour proposals, they would leave the UK sooner and 63 per cent said they were planning on leaving within two years. Unsurprisingly, some 83 per cent of non-doms identified liability for inheritance tax on their worldwide assets as a key driver of their decision to emigrate. Although the selection of the survey may have reflected a bias towards the wealthiest non-doms, some 60 per cent of tax advisors said they expected more than 40 per cent of clients to leave Britain's shores within two years of the change. It's capital flight on a grand scale and, just like the Scottish Government before them, the UK Governments were warned there was a serious risk of this outcome. Farage as 'Robin Hood' Now Nigel Farage has stepped in to announce a new Reform UK policy that will create a new system called the Britannia Card. Foreign applicants would pay £250,000 for a ten-year visa on arrival which would make them free from tax (including inheritance tax) on their foreign assets. The Britannia Card could then be renewed for a further ten years. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The principle is similar to tax systems operated in other countries such as Italy and Greece but is a good deal more attractive (cheaper) to the non-doms, and consequently will raise less money for the Treasury. At £25,000 a year compared to €200k in Italy or €100k in Greece, the Britannia Card could be priced higher. Maybe Farage is intentionally pitching it low because so many non-doms will have left that attracting them back in four years' time after a general election will be very difficult. With other attractions that London offers, the cost of attracting UHNWIs could probably start higher and be reduced if it does not work. In an interesting twist, described as making Farage a modern-day Robin Hood, any Britannia Card visa fee income would go straight to the lowest paid as a tax bonus, possibly worth £600 each. Reform is selling that as taking from the wealthiest to give to the poorest workers – but it will only work if the non-doms return. Staying in Dubai or Doha might remain their preferred choice – but at least we now have a political offering where some UK politicians recognise you can't tax yourself into prosperity.
The Herald Scotland
6 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Former Glasgow MP announces support for second indy ref
He posted: 'We support the right of the Scots to self-determination. Eleven years after they last did so we believe the time for another referendum is close. 'Given the collapsing authority of the British state, the pitiful prime minister Starmer and the moral decline of British society, the result cannot easily be predicted. Britain has become a cesspit.' The Dundee-born politician served as MP for Glasgow West and Kelvin between 1987 and 2005. He was expelled from Labour in 2003 after making comments critical of the war in Iraq. He has long opposed Scottish independence, touring the country in the run-up to the 2014 referendum to stump for a 'no' vote. However, don't take Galloway for a surprise SNP convert. Posting to X several hours later, he added: 'Frankly the only thing that can stop Britain breaking up is the greenery, quackery and wokery of the SNP.' Galloway previously founded the staunchly unionist All for Unity party. Ahead of the Holyrood elections in 2021, he said: 'Politicians at Holyrood are rightly criticised for having little experience of the real world. "We've got, without doubt, the most qualified and capable candidate list of any party to take the fight to the separatists in the next Scottish Parliament. "All For Unity will open the books of the Scottish Parliament, tackle the scourge of separatism and save our Scotland". The party did not win any seats at the election and was deregistered in 2022.
