Holyrood calls for income tax to be increased

MSPs demand hikes to pay for higher public spending, as SNP abstains

The Scottish Parliament has demanded tax hikes after the SNP abstained from a landmark vote.

A majority of MSPs voted yesterday for income tax to be increased to fund higher spending on public services. Labour, the Greens and the Lib Dems joined forces in the call for rises, which the Conservatives opposed.

The SNP abstained from the final vote, a move labelled by the Tories as the “clearest sign yet” that the Nationalists are plotting a “tax raid on the majority of Scotland’s workers”.

The result is not binding on the Scottish Government, but is a clear expression of Holyrood’s will on the issue.

Alex Rowley, the acting leader of Scottish Labour, which led the debate, said the parliament had “endorsed Labour’s basic principles on tax and public spending”.

“If we are to protect public services we need to be willing to increase taxation,” he said.

“When push came to shove SNP politicians sat on their hands.

“That simply is not good enough. Scotland deserves better than a government that doesn’t know whether it thinks taxes should go up or down. The SNP now must respect the will of parliament.”

Nicola Sturgeon raised the spectre of tax rises in her programme for government speech earlier this month, promising to examine how best to use taxation to tackle austerity.

The Scottish Government last year resisted calls to increase rates after Holyrood took control of the levy.

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said it was clear the SNP were conspiring to hit the pockets of workers.

“The Nationalists are lurching to the left, and the hard-working people of Scotland will pay the price,” he added.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: “By abstaining in the parliamentary vote the SNP have accepted that taxes should rise. The job now is to decide exactly what that tax package should be.”

Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Greens’ co-convener, said the vote showed a “majority view that we need to raise more funds fairly, from those who can afford to pay, to protect public services”.

MSPs backed a motion – by 33 votes to 30, with 61 abstentions – calling for income tax to be “increased to allow greater investment in public services”.

The Scottish Government had called for MSPs to “reject the current approach to taxation and public spending of the UK Government”.

Finance secretary Derek Mackay said his party would not support the Labour motion because they did not want to “prejudge the debate on taxation”.

Picture: PA. Acting Labour leader Alex Rowley led the debate.