Finance

Scotland’s finance secretary asks chancellor for assurances over tax plans

Published

7 months ago

November 8, 2025

Scotland’s finance secretary asks chancellor for assurances over tax plans

PA Media Shona Robison in the Holyrood chamber with a neutral expression on her face. She is holding a black leather folder with paper protruding from the top. She wears a navy top and has her blonde hair pinned up. — Shona Robison’s “tests” for Rachel Reeves include increasing consequential funding for Scotland

Scotland’s finance secretary has asked for a meeting and assurances from the chancellor over speculation she will raise income tax in her Budget.

Such a move, which Rachel Reeves refused to rule out last week, would lead to an automatic deduction from Scotland’s funding from the Treasury.

Shona Robison said Labour should ditch “outdated” fiscal rules which include making sure day-to-day spending is funded by tax revenues.

The Treasury said it would not comment on speculation but claimed its previous “record settlement” for Scotland meant it receives 20% more funding per head of population than the rest of the UK.

In an unusual pre-Budget speech in Downing Street last week, Reeves said she would make “necessary choices” in her tax and spending plans later this month after the world had “thrown more challenges our way”.

She did not rule out a U-turn on Labour’s general election manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance, leading to speculation that a tax rise is on the way.

Any increase in income tax by the UK government could see a fall in the block grant Scotland receives from Westminster as a result of a funding agreement called the Block Grant Adjustment.

The Fraser of Allander Institute has estimated a 2p rise in the basic rate of tax elsewhere in the UK could cut Scotland’s budget by up £1bn, unless the Scottish government matches the increase with its own tax rise.

Robison said the chancellor’s speech had “piled uncertainty on uncertainty” and that she had requested an “urgent meeting” where she would set out three tests.

These are:

The chancellor “ditch her outdated, restricted fiscal rules” and faces up to a “new reality”.
All money raised from tax increases is invested in public services, meaning the block grant also increases as a result
Confirmation that Scotland will not see a cut in funding

She said: “They came to office promising an end to austerity, so to impose it on Scotland would be a political betrayal from which Labour would never recover.”

Rachel Reeves’ Downing Street speech led to speculation she plans to raise income tax

Getty Images Chancellor Rachel Reeves stands in front of a union jack wearing a plum blazer and white V-neck top. — Rachel Reeves’ Downing Street speech led to speculation she plans to raise income tax

Income tax in Scotland

Ahead of the last general election First Minister John Swinney urged the next UK government to replicate Scotland’s devolved taxation system where higher earners pay more in tax.

People living in Scotland earning below about £30,300 pay slightly less income tax than they would elsewhere in the UK, with a maximum saving of about £28.

Above that threshold they pay increasingly more as earnings increase. Someone on £50,000 in Scotland pays £1,528 more than they would in the rest of the UK. That rises to £5,207 for someone on £125,000.

Proposed income tax bands in Scotland -
Starter rate £12,571 - £15,397 - 19%
Basic rate £15,398 - £27,491 - 20%
Intermediate rate £27,492 - £43,662 - 21%
Higher rate £43,663 - £75,000 - 42%
Advanced rate £75,001 - £125,140 - 45%
Top rate Over £125,140 -48%

Swinney recently said he had no plans to make any further changes to taxation in Scotland ahead of next May’s Holyrood election.

However, following the chancellor’s speech last week he has now declined to rule this out.

What is the Treasury saying?

The Treasury said it could not comment on the chancellor’s plans ahead of her Budget, but it said she had outlined the global and long term economic challenges that would influence her decisions.

A spokesperson said: “Our record funding settlement for Scotland will mean over 20% more funding per head than the rest of the UK.

“We have also confirmed £8.3bn in funding for GB Energy-Nuclear and GB Energy in Aberdeen, up to £750m for a new supercomputer at Edinburgh University, and are investing £452m over four years for City and Growth Deals across Scotland.

“This investment is all possible because our fiscal rules are non-negotiable, they are the basis of the stability which underpins growth.”

Why would a UK tax hike cut Scotland’s budget?

A change to UK income tax would apply directly to residents in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – but it could also have an impact on Scottish taxpayers.

When the devolved government in Scotland was given more tax raising powers nearly a decade ago, an agreement called the Fiscal Framework was agreed setting out how the new system would work.

Part of that was something called the Block Grant Adjustment (BGA) which meant the funding Holyrood receives from Westminster was reduced to take into the account money the Scottish government was now able to raise directly.

The BGA was intended to stop either government being better or worse off due to devolution.

It means the UK government is able to deduct funds from the block grant that it estimates it would have received if tax-raising powers were not devolved.

If the chancellor raises income tax, the BGA will also change.

Scotland will then have to generate more tax revenue or cut public spending in order to avoid a budget shortfall.

The Scottish Budget will be announced on 13 January.

Finance

How can I illustrate our financial position to a spouse who shows little interest?

Published

2 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

How can I illustrate our financial position to a spouse who shows little interest?

Reader question: My spouse has little interest in our financial position. As we age, this concerns me. I try to share some basic information (income, spending, account balances, debt, and so on) each month but rarely get a response. I think graphs or charts might be of more interest to her than a bunch of numbers. What recommendations would you have for illustrating our financial position so that I am not the only person aware of how we are situated? Thanks!

Answer: Your situation is pretty common. Most couples I know develop a division of labor over time, where one person is in charge of financial matters and the other person is less involved. That’s definitely the case for my husband and me. He’s in charge of paying all the monthly bills and preparing our tax returns, but the financial planning and investment decisions are up to me. This type of arrangement might work well for a long time, but can become less sustainable with age, particularly if the “finance person” in the relationship dies or develops a major health issue.

Online tools and mind maps

Illustrating your financial situation with charts and graphs is a great idea that might help your spouse become a little more involved. Morningstar’s  Portfolio X-Ray  tool includes a variety of images that help illustrate your financial situation. Websites for most major brokerage firms also include some visual tools. Schwab, for example, offers a Portfolio Checkup and a bar graph illustrating your account’s monthly income from dividends and interest income. Vanguard has a Portfolio Watch tool and a variety of performance illustrations, tools, and calculators.

A  mind map, which we used with clients when I worked for a financial advisory firm, can be another way to picture your entire financial situation on one page. There are various  softwaretemplates  for drawing a mind map, or you can simply sketch it out with a large sheet of paper and a pencil. Start with your names at the center of the page. Then draw spokes connecting to various categories, such as names of other family members; investment accounts; real estate and other assets, insurance policies, estate plans, key goals and values, and contact information for accountants, estate planners, and other professionals. It can be helpful to go through the mind map together and make any updates needed at least once a year.

Other ways to communicate about money

A few other ideas—though not related to charts and graphs—might also be useful.

I like the idea of putting together a  net worth statement  that itemizes cash, taxable accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, and debt for each member of the couple as well as items owned jointly. It’s a good idea to update this document at least once a year and  discuss it as a couple. If you set up the document as a spreadsheet, you can include columns with additional information such as account numbers, what each account is used for, which accounts are subject to required minimum distributions, or tax issues like potential capital gains.

Many couples also put together a  binder  (sometimes humorously called a “Doomsday Book”) that contains information about where to find important paperwork, insurance policies, how bills are paid, what each account is for, steps the surviving spouse will need to take, final wishes, and any other critical information.

A well-qualified financial adviser can bridge the information gap

Finally, you could consider working with a good  financial adviser,  who can help involve your spouse in financial matters while you’re still living and step in to fully manage investments and personal finance decisions if you pass away before your spouse. Make sure the adviser holds the Certified Financial Planner designation and charges fees that are reasonable. Although a 1% fee is still the industry standard for accounts of $1 million or less, it’s possible to find advisers who charge significantly less, including a few who price their services based on hours worked instead of a percentage of assets under management.

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This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.

Amy C. Arnott, CFA, is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.

Finance

Proximo Congress 2026: US Energy & Infrastructure Finance | Insights | Mayer Brown

Published

13 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Proximo Congress 2026: US Energy & Infrastructure Finance | Insights | Mayer Brown

Mayer Brown is a proud sponsor of Proximo Congress 2026. This senior meeting of the US energy, infrastructure, and digital infrastructure finance community is shaped around the questions credit and investment committees are actually asking in 2026: how asset classes are converging, how risk is being priced in a recalibrated policy and geopolitical environment, and how public and private capital are being structured together to deliver projects at scale.

Mayer Brown has also been recognized for three separate awards which will be presented during the event. These awards include:

Proximo North America Transport Deal of the Year 2025 – SR 400 Peach Partners
Proximo North America Rail Deal of the Year 2025 – Brightline West
Proximo North America LNG Deal of the Year 2025 – Port Arthur LNG 2

For more information, visit the event website.

Finance

What are nonconforming mortgages and what are the risks?

Published

23 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

What are nonconforming mortgages and what are the risks?

If you have ever taken out a mortgage, you’ll know there are a lot of requirements to meet. You may need to put down a certain amount and have a debt-to-income ratio below a certain threshold. You may also run into limits on how much you can borrow or what sources of income the lender will count.

These rules do not apply to all mortgages — just to conforming mortgages, which is what the majority of borrowers take out. However, mortgage lenders are increasingly offering what are known as nonconforming loans, or mortgages that do not “comply with every one of the strict standards put in place after the housing crisis,” said The Wall Street Journal. While “still a small portion,” the “share of mortgages using alternative lending practices” has “doubled in size over the past three years.”