The crisis in funding regional economic developments
There is so much scope to impact on public services that what potential exists to impact on bread-and-butter economic issues like jobs, inflation and the standard of living is largely overlooked.
Post publication, what might the legacy of the new report be? I suspect it could be similar to that of the Mirrlees Review of Taxation undertaken for the Institute for Fiscal Studies back in 2011. This was, and still is, an important and far-reaching analysis of the UK tax system and forcefully puts the case for radical tax reform, which would both improve fairness and engender economic growth. Unfortunately, its practical influence has been negligible as it has proved too challenging for politicians to adopt to any great degree.
At present, the Scottish Parliament is even less inclined to seek radical solutions than the UK Government. As long as council tax rates are based on 1991 house valuations then don’t expect much bravery in taking forward far-reaching economic policies, especially if they come at a cost.