Campaigners have warmly welcomed an increase in the Scottish Child Payment and urged Scottish Ministers to lobby for reform of the “individualised” tax system.

Yesterday, the Scottish Government announced that the Scottish Child Payment will be increased to £25 a week by the end of 2022 in a bid to help struggling families. Social justice secretary Shona Robison said more than 400,000 children will be eligible.

Michael Veitch, Parliamentary Officer at the charity CARE for Scotland, which provides social policy analysis from a Christian perspective, commented:

“We warmly welcome the increase in the Scottish child payment. For the last 15 years we have campaigned for a less individualised tax system where more is done to help families, especially those with lower household incomes. This step helps to address inequalities that are baked into the system.

“Our latest report, ‘A Fairer Share’, demonstrated that to achieve the average national standard of living, a single adult in Scotland needs to have gross pre-tax earnings of £23,500, a couple without children needs £38,000, and a couple with one income and two children needs at least £61,000.

“Under the current income tax system, the single adult mentioned would pay £2,150 of income tax, the married couple with one income and no children would pay £5,000, and the married couple with one income and two children would pay almost £14,000.

“The UK tax system is based on the individual and takes no account of the circumstances of a household, including a family’s ability to pay. This approach to taxation has kept many families in Scotland in poverty and continues to be a barrier preventing them from increasing income and escaping poverty.”

“Ultimately, the present unfairness and inequalities in the design of the tax system are hindering families in Scotland from escaping poverty. This is something both the Scottish and UK Governments must work on together to address. We urge Ministers in Scotland to lobby for reform.”

ENDS

Read CARE’s latest report on taxation in Scotland: A Fairer Share

For more information or to request an interview contact Jamie Gillies | Jamie.gillies@care.org.uk