Income tax: Keeping 20p basic rate in Wales not ruled out By David Deans

Wales' finance minister has declined to say if she would keep the 20p basic rate of income tax in the wake of the UK chancellor's mini-budget.

Rebecca Evans says she will not be pushed into a "quick announcement" before the Welsh budget is set.

Plaid Cymru said the extra cash "could be used to protect public services from the brunt of Westminster's cost-of-living crisis".

One Welsh Labour MP also argued that the 20p basic rate should be kept.

The mini-budget brought forward a cut to the basic rate a year earlier than planned - Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's decision means it will fall to 19p to April.

The Welsh government has had some income tax powers since 2019, but has never used them.

Ministers collect 10p of the rates collected, which they have the power to vary - meaning they could add a penny to the basic rate after it is cut to 19p.

According to Welsh government documents, based on the current 20p rate an extra 1p would have generated ?209m in 2022-23.

The basic rate of tax is paid on income between ?12,571 to ?50,270.

On Tuesday Economy Minister Vaughan Gething warned the Welsh government was facing a ?4bn fall to the real value of the budget by 2025 - "worse than even during the decade of austerity".