No income tax decisions before forecast - minister
- Published
An independent forecast of the UK's financial outlook is needed before making any decisions on changing income tax rates in Wales, the Welsh government has said.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) report is due on 23 November.
Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said she will be able to "take informed choices" once she has seen the OBR's forecast.
Plaid Cymru has urged her not to follow UK ministers in cutting the basic rate from 20% to 19% from next April.
In last week's mini-budget, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng brought forward a cut to the basic rate a year earlier than planned - meaning it will fall to 19p from next 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 and £50,270.
Rebecca Evans says there is no "sense of urgency" on income tax rates
Giving evidence to a Senedd committee on Thursday, Welsh government Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said she made an announcement earlier this week on raising the threshold for Land Transaction Tax, the Welsh version of stamp duty, "really quickly".
She said this was to help avoid market uncertainty and also "to do the right thing" for people buying houses.
However on income tax rates she said: "We don't have that level of urgency now in terms of Welsh levels of income tax bearing in mind that the change won't come in until next year."
The minister said she also wanted more information.
"What we do need to do, unlike the UK government, is to wait for the OBR's forecast so that we can better understand the situation that we are facing so that we can take informed choices.
"We have a tried and tested way of dealing with Welsh levels of income tax in the sense of announcing them, debating them in the Senedd, voting on them and so on.
"We'd normally do that along the final budget so I don't feel that sense of urgency to make an announcement."
'Help save livelihoods and lives'
Plaid Cymru Senedd finance spokesperson Llyr Gruffydd, has called on the Welsh government not to cut the basic income tax rate from 20% to 19%, saying it would generate £200m to "protect essential services".
"That money will help save livelihoods and help save lives," he said.
The Welsh government is expected to publish its draft budget for 2023-24 just before Christmas.
MSs - members of the Welsh Parliament - will debate its contents and vote on it in the New Year.