Staying part of Britain is the best way for Scotland to clamp down on tax avoidance, a UK Government cabinet minister has claimed.
First Minister Alex Salmond has previously said his policy “of setting a competitive rate of corporation tax and then collecting it is superior to the Labour-Tory policy of setting a rate of corporation tax and then forgetting to collect it from key companies.”
However, Under Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, poured scorn over the SNP’s commitment.
Mr Mundell, pictured, said: “They’ve given very little resource to tax issues in the past and, as we well know, even the tax powers they had they let lapse because they didn’t pay sufficient attention to it.
“I don’t think that there’s any evidence that a separate Scotland Inland Revenue, which would cost millions to establish, would have any more effective approach.”
Although recent controversies over companies’ arrangements has loomed large in the headlines, research by Tax Research UK shows Britain has the third best rate of collecting taxes in Europe.
Mr Mundell said being part of a country that “has a seat at the top table” at major events such as the G8 summit helps strengthen the position to take a lead on major issues such as tax evasion.
Mr Mundell added: “Britain is a player. There is dialogue with Putin, with the new leader in China, with Obama. There is an opportunity to have that dialogue, which just wouldn’t be the case if Scotland was on its own.”