Question reference: S6W-24902
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 29 January 2024
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 February 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current tax base in Scotland is, as a percentage of GDP, and what assessment it has made of how this compares to other OECD economies.
Answer
According to OECD data, the UK’s tax revenue, as a share of GDP, was 35.3% in 2022, the latest year for which internationally comparable data is available. This is broadly in line with the OECD average of 34.0%.
No directly comparable estimate is available for Scotland. However, the latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) report suggests that Scotland’s tax to GDP ratio was similar to the UK’s in 2022-23, and so would also be broadly in line with the OECD average.
In the devolved context such measures need to be interpreted with caution as some taxes remain reserved.