Skip to main content
< Back to all posts
28 May 2026

Better tax wealth to help deliver fairer, greener, more prosperous country

Replacing Council Tax and taxing private jets key tests of commitment to tax justice.

Scotland’s new Parliament must move fast to tax wealth and polluters more fairly or risk failing on poverty, public services and climate action, campaigners have warned in a letter to the newly re-appointed First Minister. 

Tax Justice Scotland – a coalition of more than 50 organisations, academics and think tanks – says repeated warnings from independent experts show Scotland’s public finances are under growing strain, and that current spending plans do not add up, exposing a widening gap between political promises and how they will be paid for. Campaigners say the election campaign “largely sidestepped the reality of Scotland’s public finance challenge”. 

In an open letter to the First Minister, the campaign is calling for John Swinney to take early, decisive action using devolved powers, starting with long-overdue reform of Council Tax and accelerating plans to tax luxury pollution. The campaign has also written to the leaders of the other parties in the Scottish Parliament, urging them to support fair tax reforms.  

Campaigners say that Income Tax takings remain key to investing in a fairer future and that the scale of financial pressures may necessitate broad-based rate increases. However, they argue that increased focus on taxing wealth is long overdue. 

It comes after research showed strong public backing for taxing wealth more fairly, with 85% of people saying taxes on the wealthy should increase rather than decrease. 

While various political parties voiced support for reforming or replacing Council Tax before the election, campaigners say the focus must now shift from vague manifesto promises to meaningful change. They warn a failure to reform the taxation of property wealth during this Parliament would be “unforgivable”. 

Tax Justice Scotland has called on the new First Minister to launch an immediate revaluation of properties and a clear, time-bound process to replace the “outdated and unfair” system with a fairer, modern alternative that better reflects property wealth and raises more money for vital local services. 

At the same time, the letter urges the First Minister to act faster to ensure the ultra-wealthy and biggest polluters pay their fair share, including through bringing forward Scotland’s planned Private Jet Tax by a year to 2027 and setting it at a punishingly high rate. 

The letter also calls for greater honesty about Scotland’s public finances, warning that current plans fall short of what’s needed just to maintain existing services. 

Despite SNP manifesto commitments not to increase Income Tax rates or bands, campaigners say a “reality check” is needed as Scotland faces rising pressure on public finances from an ageing population and growing demand to deliver on key priorities like child poverty, climate action and the housing and social care crises. 

Tax Justice Scotland also highlights the overdue need for far greater transparency over land ownership in Scotland, arguing that better data is essential to support future reforms that fairly tax land and wealth. 

Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland, and member of Tax Justice Scotland, said: “Scotland needs a post-election reality check: if we want a fairer and greener country, we need to invest in it: you can’t promise a better Scotland and avoid paying for it.  

“We’ve seen some small but fair changes to Income Tax, but we urgently need to start taxing wealth properly to help fund the fairer future people were promised. In Scotland, that starts with replacing Council Tax and fast-tracking a tough tax on the wealthy private jet passengers polluting our skies. 

“Standing still isn’t neutral: it means pressures on public services will mount, and unfairness remains baked into the system. But a different choice is possible: particularly if we choose to tax wealth more fairly. People want it. Scotland needs it. It’s time for politicians to get on and deliver it.” 

Tax Justice Scotland says women are more likely to feel the impact when public services are cut, while concentrated wealth and assets are still far more likely to be held by men, making fairer taxation of wealth an issue of gender equality as well as economic fairness. 

Beyond devolved powers, the campaign group is also urging the First Minister to push for UK Government action to tax extreme wealth and big polluters, while backing international efforts to strengthen global tax rules through a UN Tax Convention. 

Lisa Hough-Stewart, Director of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland, and member of Tax Justice Scotland, said: “People in Scotland are clear they want action on inequality and support fairer taxation of wealth. Fair taxes are essential if we are to build a wellbeing economy; one where resources are shared more fairly, communities are properly supported, and the transition to a low-carbon economy is both fast and fair. 

“The new Scottish Parliament has a choice: keep mindlessly rearranging the furniture or start rebuilding the house on fairer financial foundations.” 

  

/ENDS 

For more information and interviews, please contact: Rebecca Lozza, Oxfam Scotland Media and Communications Adviser:  / 07917738450   

Notes to Editors 

  • Tax Justice Scotland is supported by over 50 diverse organisations, academics and economists. It campaigns for a fairer tax system in Scotland, across the UK, and globally that delivers for people, public services, and the planet. Find out more about Tax Justice Scotland: https://taxjustice.scot/ 
  • Find out more about the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland’s research into what the Scottish public think about wealth inequality and tax here.  
    • Polling for Tax Justice Scotland by YouGov shows that more than half of Scots (56%) support political party commitment to reforming Council Tax during the next Parliament, while just 11% oppose this. If Council Tax is reformed or replaced, an overwhelming 83% want a fairer system; with people in higher-value homes either paying proportionately more than people in lower-value homes (57%), or everyone paying the same share regardless of their property value (26%). Just 2% want people in lower-value homes to pay proportionately more than people in higher value housing, showing near-total rejection of the unfair status quo created by the current Council Tax. Read more.