The South Wales Chamber of Commerce welcomes today’s announcement by the UK Government to devolve some tax varying powers to Wales, broadly in line with the recommendations of the Silk Commission.
Graham Morgan, director of the South Wales Chamber of Commerce said “We are pleased to see the Welsh and UK Governments working together on something that could provide a real benefit to the Welsh economy. The devolution of these taxes enables the Welsh Government to borrow money which can play a major role in infrastructure projects such as the M4 relief road. We have, since 2010, highlighted the importance of this critical piece of infrastructure.
“We regularly hear from our members across south Wales about how the congestion around the Brynglas Tunnels brings a halt to their business. Businesses in Newport in particular struggle as their staff are often late for work due to accidents on the motorway, and they find it difficult to travel to meet with clients due to the congestion.
“Equally, we hear from businesses as far away as Pembrokeshire, who rely on the inflow of tourists from across the UK, that their customers regularly get stuck in the traffic, arriving late for their holidays. This gives a very bad first impression of Wales, and needs to be addressed if we want to promote the country as a world class tourist destination.
“The devolution of these taxes also opens up the options to able to pay for other infrastructure projects right across Wales, however, we would warn Welsh politicians against seeing these new powers as a convenient ‘cash cow’.
“While many of the projects that could be paid for would benefit the economy, we need to be careful that taxes are not raised to the point that it has a negative effect on businesses. We are therefore calling for an Economic Impact Assessment to be carried out every time the Welsh Government proposes to vary taxes, so that everyone is clear about the balance between the impact of raising taxation, compared with a clear understanding about what the additional revenue will be spent on.”