So keep your hands off our pay packets!
Exclusive Mail poll shows Scots oppose Holyrood tax hikes...
HARD-WORKING Scots have warned Nicola Sturgeon to keep her hands off their pay and not go ahead with an income tax grab.
An exclusive poll for the Scottish Daily Mail – the first to be carried out since the SNP leader last week revealed she is considering tax hikes – sounded a warning about dipping into the pockets of hard-pressed families.
The findings suggest severe fears among Scots that raising income tax would be bad for business and bad for Scottish households, too. Last night critics said people across the country feared Miss Sturgeon’s policies would damage the economy.
Donald Cameron, policy co-ordinator for the Scottish Conservatives, said: ‘The people of Scotland didn’t agree with the nationalists on independence, and it looks like they don’t agree with their priorities for domestic government either.’
The Scottish Daily Mail poll revealed only 13 per cent of Scots think the basic rate of income tax should rise. Just 44 per cent think the higher 40p rate of tax should rise, while only one in three respondents thinks raising the top rate of tax from 45p to 50p would benefit the economy.
The new poll of Scots carried out by Survation revealed also that there was strong opposition to other aspects of the new package of policies unveiled by Miss Sturgeon last week in a bid to ‘refresh’ her government.
Most Scots are opposed to the SNP’s plan to scrap jail sentences of less than a year and to the proposal to consider banning parents from smacking their children.
When Miss Sturgeon unveiled her programme for government last week, she said ‘the time is right’ to consider increases across all income tax bands. But the findings suggest strong opposition to any move to increase the tax bill of hard-working Scots.
Mr Cameron said: ‘People across Scotland simply don’t support these policies, which will damage the economy and weaken the justice system.
‘Nicola Sturgeon’s Programme for Government was a real test after years of focusing on nothing but the constitution. But as this poll shows, most people think a tax hike would be bad for business, and bad for hardworking families.’
Survation surveyed 1,016 Scots between September 8-12 in the wake of the First Minister unveiling her programme last week.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘This poll shows strong support for a range of Scottish Government policies.
‘Under this government, Scotland’s economy is outperforming that of the UK, the employment rate has never been higher, recorded crime is at a 42-year low and we are leading the international agenda on environmental issues. Our Programme for Government is fresh, bold and ambitious.’