- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 30 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government when it will make a decision regarding the application by Grundon Waste Management to build an industrial incinerator in Perth, now that it has received recommendations from its reporter.
Answer
Scottish Ministers are currently considering the proposal. It is their intention to handle the case within the performance targets set of issuing their decision within two months of receiving the Reporter’s report, in 80% of cases, and within three months in 100% of cases. The Reporter’s report was received on 25 June 2013.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 30 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has updated the simulation model used in its report, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy, to reflect changes in the industries and sectors likely to be responsible for foreign direct investment since the model was first developed.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16253 on 30 July 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
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- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 30 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4F-01498 by Alex Salmond on 27 June 2013 (Official Report, col. 21751), in which years after implementation would a 3% reduction in corporation tax “increase total tax revenues”.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-15478 on 12 June 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
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- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 30 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government how the figure of 0.1% growth in government consumption over the first 20 years following a 3% reduction in corporation tax, as shown in Table 1 on page 12 of its report, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy, is affected by updating the model to include the current corporation tax rate of 23%, rather than the 2006-07 rate of 30%.
Answer
The modelling in the report, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy, assesses the impact of a policy equivalent to a reduction in the main rate of corporation tax from 23 per cent to 20 per cent.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 30 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what the change in government consumption would be in each of the first 20 years following a 3% reduction in corporation tax, as shown in the simulation used in its report, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy.
Answer
The report referred to in the question provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic impact of reducing corporation tax and outlines the impacts on key economic variables, such as output, employment, investment and government consumption.
As outlined in the report, the increase in both output and employment estimated to be generated by the policy expands the tax base over the long term, leading to an increase in government consumption. Such increases may translate into greater output in sectors such as public administration and education (by 0.4%), higher education institutions (by 0.5%) and other services (by 0.7%), i.e. those in the public sector or those closely linked to it.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 30 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government from which year data is derived to show the impact on foreign direct investment of a reduction in corporation tax in the simulation model used in its report, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy.
Answer
The change in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in response to the policy is informed by robust estimates contained in a range of academic studies and empirical evidence. Appendix B of the report referred to in the question provides further detail.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 30 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what sensitivity analysis it conducted on the figure of 0.1% growth in government consumption over the first 20 years following a 3% reduction in corporation tax, as shown in table 1 on page 12 of its report, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy.
Answer
The modelling work was implemented with the use of a robust framework of the Scottish economy. The results are based on actual data and parameters informed by empirical evidence.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 29 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) businesses and (b) internet service providers regarding the introduction of a Scottish internet suffix in an independent Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government supports the application by Dot Scot Registry (DSR) for the .scot Top Level Domain (TLD) which is a ‘community’ bid intended to be representative of the Scottish online community, including businesses and the wider Scots diaspora. Research was conducted in 2008 prior to the formation of DSR which showed strong demand for TLD associated with a Scottish online identity. The DSR bid is supported by the Scottish Government and includes declarations of support from a wide range of companies, organisations and individuals.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 29 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government whether Scottish websites and email addresses in an independent Scotland would have to change their internet suffix from .uk to .scot and, if so, what the cost would be.
Answer
The .uk TLD is operated by Nominet and their policies set out that .uk domains available for purchase may be bought by consumers anywhere in the world. When the .scot TLD is established it will be available under specified criteria, agreed with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and users can decide whether to purchase the domain as an addition or alternative to other available internet domains.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 24 July 2013
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the oral evidence by the Minister for External Affairs and International Development to the European and External Relations Committee on 16 May 2013 (Official Report, col.1200), what steps it has taken to implement the suggestion made by the chief executive of Transport Scotland in April 2013 to engage directly with airlines on a direct route from Scotland to China.
Answer
At the meeting between the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the Minister for External Relations and International Development in June it was agreed that the Scottish Government would bring together outline proposals, with input from Scotland’s airports, in the interests of promoting a direct service between Scotland and China. These proposals will be passed to the main Chinese airlines by the CAAC. In addition, a Task Force including representation from Scotland and China will be brought together to develop the proposals further.