JOHN Swinney has signalled his intention to offer generous tax breaks to wealthy entrepreneurs if the SNP succeeds in securing a range of new powers for Holyrood.
The Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary said capital gains tax could be used to create "targeted incentives" to boost entrepreneurship.
He promised to review the UK Government's existing tax relief scheme which rewards successful entrepreneurs who make up to £10million from the sale of their business.
The proposal was set out in a document submitted to the UK Government, as MPs began detailed scrutiny of the new Scotland Bill.
Debating further devolution at Westminster, the SNP's deputy leader Stewart Hosie said tax competition within the UK was "a good thing".
He also signalled that the SNP would support a backbench Tory amendment to deliver full fiscal autonomy, despite warnings it would leave Scotland billions of pounds a year worse off.
The Scottish Government's new document, entitled Beyond Smith, gave details of the "priority devolution" the SNP wants in addition to measures recommended by last year's Smith Commission.
As well as capital gains tax, Mr Swinney called for Holyrood to be handed control over National Insurance contributions, corporation tax and the national minimum wage.
Working age benefits and benefits relating to children would also be devolved, and Holyrood would gain control over the Jobcentre Plus network and employment schemes, and trade union and health and safety law.
The document gave clear indications the Scottish Government would seek to use to the new powers to cut taxes for business while enhancing benefits and raising the minimum wage.
Mr Swinney said capital gains tax could be used to boost Scotland's rate of business start-ups, which lags behind the rest of the UK.
Under the existing entrepreneurs' relief scheme, capital gains tax is reduced from 28 per cent to 10 per cent for people selling a business.
The lower rate applies to lifetime gains of up to £10million, a limit doubled by George Osborne in 2011.
Mr Swinney said the Scottish Government would "review the effectiveness of the tax break".
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said the document did not indicate a move "up, down or sideways," adding: "All we are doing today is saying we want to review it.
"There is no indication of where that review would go."
Allowing entrepreneurs to keep more of the money they make from selling a business might tempt more to set-up in Scotland.
Alternatively, the Scottish Government could devise its own incentive with control over capital gains tax.
STUC assistant secretary Stephen Boyd said: "The implication across the board is that taxes would be cut.
"There are a number of examples where the Scottish Government would be trading a real and immediate cut in revenue for benefits that may not be great in the long run."
As well as helping wealthy entrepreneurs, the Scottish Government indicated it would seek to cut National Insurance contributions for all companies and reduce corporation tax for firms investing in new facilities or research and development.
Mr Boyd welcomed the call to devolve trade union law, employment law and the minimum wage.
Mr Swinney said the package of "priority devolution" measures would pave the way for full fiscal autonomy, the devo-max set-up which would transfer all tax and spending to Holyrood.
He said: "The Scottish Government believes we should move towards full fiscal autonomy as the best route to fulfil Scotland's potential.
"The proposals we are publishing today show how we could do that, and set out a range of other priorities, short of full fiscal autonomy, that would make a real difference to Scotland's economy and people."
He added: "Control of business taxes and the minimum wage would boost economic growth by allowing us to provide targeted business incentives in line with Scotland's competitive strengths and performance.
"These measures could boost entrepreneurship, encourage innovation and improve productivity, while tackling in-work poverty and investing in skills."
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