New Petitions

Our next petition is PE2221, which was lodged by Khadijah Rafiq, and published on 24 June. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to waive the additional dwelling supplement for those buying homes to support dependent family members.The Scottish Parliament information centre briefing explains that ADS is payable when someone buys a residential property in Scotland and already owns one or more properties anywhere in the world. It provides examples of such additional residential properties.The briefing refers to a Scottish Government consultation conducted from December 2021, with a summary of evidence published in February 2023. Although there was no question specifically about relief from ADS, 96 per cent of respondents agreed that Revenue Scotland should be given a power to waive ADS in exceptional circumstances. The Scottish Government did not support that proposal on the basis that such reforms would double the amount of time that someone had to sell their previous main residence. The Chartered Institute of Taxation stated that doubling that window would be a sensible step.The briefing further notes changes that were made to ADS and to land and buildings transaction tax—LBTT—through secondary legislation in 2024, but those did not include waiving ADS for people buying homes to support dependent family members.In its response to the petition, the Scottish Government refers to the initial findings of a review of LBTT, which was published in March 2026. It notes that the review“recognised that difficult cases can arise within the ADS framework, while also highlighting the challenges of introducing greater flexibility into a tax system that otherwise applies consistently across all taxpayers.”The review concluded that further consideration of the issue may be warranted, while noting the associated legislative, administrative and evidential challenges. The Scottish Government states:“This is a complex area and no decisions have been taken on potential legislative changes.”Do members have any comments or suggestions for action on the petition?

Yes, I think that that is a good step.Perhaps we should write to the Scottish Government in the first instance, or are we looking to institutions? I want to us be clear about who we should write to. I am open to a broad range of correspondence to clarify what is happening. It seems to be quite a complex issue.

Yes, that makes sense.I was also thinking of Dan Neidle, who runs a public tax charity. He often comments publicly on tax reforms. I would like to get his view. It might be a topic that we can open up to a broader inquiry, with public engagement, which could be quite interesting.I note that the petitioner has not provided a follow-up response, even though this presents them with a very good opportunity. We will want to invite the petitioner to provide evidence, because they might have a personal interest in a particular case that is worth looking at in detail.There are a few actions there, and I hope that they are all acceptable. Do members agree with that approach?Members indicated agreement.

I thank the petitioner for lodging the petition, and I hope that we will hear from them in due course.