COUNTY councillors in Denbighshire and Conwy have signed a letter from the Wales Green Party addressed to the Welsh First Minister, Mark Drakeford, appealing for an increase in income tax in the country.

Cllrs Jon Harland (Prestatyn Central ward) and Martyn Hogg (St Asaph East ward) of Denbighshire County Council were among the letter’s signatories.

Also signing the letter were party leader Anthony Slaughter, and his deputies, Ammi Kaur-Dhaliwal and Helen Westhead.

The Senedd has had powers granted to allow Wales to set its own rates of income tax since April 2019.

For the 2022-23 tax year, the Welsh Assembly kept to the income tax rates that govern England and Northern Ireland, which are:

  • Income under £12,570: 0 per cent income tax (tax-free Personal Allowance).
  • Income between £12,571 and £50,270: 20 per cent Basic Rate.
  • Income between £50,271 and £150,000: 40 per cent Higher Rate.
  • Income over £150,000: 45 per cent Additional Rate.

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The letter reads: “Our own NHS and social care is in meltdown due mainly to historic underfunding of it. As a result, ambulances are stacked up outside A&E departments, and response times are appalling.

“Wards are chronically understaffed. Employee morale is at an all-time low - many are underpaid and overworked.

“We understand that Westminster funding is an issue, but would argue you cannot continue blaming this completely whilst you have the power to raise the proper funding for this via our own Welsh tax system.

“A small part of the increased budget (Scotland project £129million from their 2023-24 use of tax-raising powers) can be used for a root and branch review of the whole NHS and social care system in Wales.

“However, it is already well-known that our NHS and social care system has been starved of resources for a considerable amount of time, and proper funding must be found.

“The time has come for you to consider public (and public-led) investment, generated by use of our right to vary the tax rate in Wales, if we really care about this catastrophic situation that threatens the very existence of our public health service.

“Can you give our request your consideration?”

In response to the above, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Now is not the right time to raise the basic rate of income tax as it would hurt many who are already struggling with rising inflation and higher energy bills.

“Raising the higher and additional rates of income tax by 1p for the highest earners in Wales would only generate an estimated £36million a year.

“In line with our commitment not to take more in Welsh rates of income tax from people for at least as long as the economic impact of COVID-19 lasts, there will be no change to any of the current rates for Welsh rates of income tax for 2023-24.”

In the Senedd yesterday (January 10), Mr Drakeford said that a package of measures have been put together, and that discussions will take place with trade unions tomorrow.

An element of that package, he added, involves the offer of a one-off non-consolidated payment in this financial year.

The First Minister said: “The amount of money that has been brought together for that has been hard-won over the Christmas period, in which cabinet colleagues have all had to look at plans for spending in the final quarter of this year and agree to ways in which that could be reordered to release money to support that offer.

“But that is money available only in this financial year.

“We will discuss with our trade union colleagues; that is the right place for us to discuss the quantum of money that is able to be found, and then we will discuss with them the best way in which that money could be dispersed amongst our public sector workers.

“Welsh citizens will pay higher taxes next year than they have for the last 70 years.

“They're being asked to do that in the teeth of a cost-of-living crisis where they are already struggling to pay fuel bills, energy bills, food bills and other bills too.

“This cabinet looked to see whether we should take more money out of their pockets by raising taxes, and decided that that was not a sensible course of action.

“That remains our view and, therefore, it's not a course of action we will follow, to find one-off money this year and to find recurrent money next year by raising tax levels even higher in Wales.”