1.2 million workers will be hit by tax rise

Last week saw the Scottish Government unveil its budget for the next financial year. One thing that is absolutely clear from the budget is that the hard-working people of Stirling, and across Scotland, cannot trust a word that the SNP says.

The SNP Election Manifesto from last year could not have been clearer. It promised: ‘’We will freeze the basic rate of Income Tax throughout the next Parliament to protect those on low and middle incomes.’’

Derek Mackay and the First Minister have broken this promise. They have produced a budget which will increase taxes for every person earning over £26,000. It is estimated around 1.2 million workers will be hit by this Nat Tax, a total of 45 per cent. This includes nurses, primary school teachers and police officers, hardly the super-rich.

That is a tax on aspiration, a punishment for working hard, and a direct breach of the promise made by the SNP in its manifesto.

The budget also includes another cut to council funding. The SNP have told councils that they can partially make up this shortfall by increasing the council tax by up to three per cent. This presents Stirling Council with a choice between protecting low and middle earners, or hammering them further by increasing their council tax.

There is absolutely no justification for these tax rises and cuts to local government funding. According to the respected Fraser of Allander Institute and the Scottish Parliament information centre, the Scottish Government’s total block grant from Westminster is increasing, in real terms, from this year to next year.

Instead, these rises and funding cuts announced are a direct result of the policy choices of this SNP government – and its incompetence in not being able to grow Scotland’s economy.

One thing that was absent from the Finance Secretary’s Budget Statement on Thursday were the growth projections for the Scottish economy. When we look at the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s projections for economic growth, we know exactly where the problem lies. They revealed, for the next four years, Scotland’s economy will increase by less than one per cent. This is a fraction of the growth expected for the rest of the UK economy.

These projections are absolutely dismal and much worse than expected. It will mean that Scotland’s economy under the SNP will have trailed behind the rest of the UK for 14 years.

Instead of prioritising economic growth, the SNP has decided to impose higher Nat Taxes on the hard working people of Scotland.

Large and small businesses across Scotland have warned the SNP that this will cause long term and lasting damage to the economy. It’s the SNP’s responsibility to grow the economy,but it is abjectly failing to do so.

The front-line services that millions of families depend on — not least in our schools — will be slashed back at the same time as taxes are going up. Under the SNP, the people of Stirling will pay more but get less in return.

The message of this budget is: in SNP Scotland, do not be ambitious and do not be hard working, because the SNP will penalise you for its failure to grow the Scottish economy.

I remain available to discuss any issues with constituents and should you wish to book an appointment in one of my surgeries then please contact my office for more details.

There is absolutely no justification for these tax rises and cuts to local government