FOI/202600508186 · FOI · unclear
Scottish Government analytical and wealth taxation professionals: FOI release
Information requested
You asked if the Scottish Government employ anyone capable of carrying out a literature review of approaches to wealth taxation, focussing primarily on academic research, think tank evidence papers, government reports and data, but also including analysis of some relevant international examples of wealth taxation. You also asked if the Scottish Government does have such people on the payroll, to please provide the justification for paying Ipsos MORI (a market research firm with no expertise in tax policy) £40k to complete this work.
Response
The Scottish Government does employ analytical, economic and policy professionals who have the technical capability to undertake literature reviews of this kind. However, the decision to tender this work externally was taken to ensure that the output provides an impartial and independent contribution to the ongoing discussion on wealth taxation. It was also partly taken in recognition of the relevant team's capacity constraints, and the option to tender this work was deemed a satisfactory mitigation to the risk of undue delay. Overall, this approach was deemed to maximise the opportunity for the review be undertaken by an organisation clearly distanced from government policy‑making, in order to avoid any perception of bias in the analysis or conclusion.
While Ipsos MORI are widely known as a market research firm, their proposal brought together a partnership with the Fraser of Allander Institute, an organisation with recognised expertise in economic analysis and the tax system, including Scotland's devolved taxation landscape. In addition, commissioning this work externally supports delivery of the Scottish Government’s published Tax Strategy commitments on exploring approaches to wealth taxation.
The Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan sets out this literature review as a specific deliverable, and using an external provider helps ensure that the review is comprehensive, transparent, and credible to a wide range of stakeholders. For these reasons, the decision to contract Ipsos MORI, working in partnership with the Fraser of Allander Institute, was judged to offer the strongest route to producing an impartial and credible review.
About FOI
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Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
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