Invest increased taxes locally, urges council

Highland Council leaders are seeking an assurance from Scottish Government ministers that extra money raised by increasing council tax will be invested back into the area.

The local authority is planning to lodge a special motion on the issue at next week’s full council meeting in Inverness.

From next year, whenthe Scottish Government lifts its nine-year council tax freeze, the council will be able to increase charges by up to 3% without incurring any penalty.

And in even worse news for householders, the Scottish Government is also imposing a higher rate for properties in bands E to H, affecting 27% of properties in the region.

The council anticipates that will raise an additional £5million in Highland, which could be redistributed across Scotland to reduce the education attainment gap as part of government policy. Council chiefs fear the c law back would mean “a net outflow of resource of a potential £ 2.4million of Highland taxes going to other areas in Scotland, if agreed by the Scottish Government”.

The motion, from the leader Margaret Davidson and fellow independent Helen Carmichael to go before the 80-member council on Thursday, reads: “Highland Council believes taxes raised locally should stay locally, in accordance with the European Charter of Local Self-Government.”

It urges the Scottish Government to ensure the full £ 5million stays in Highland for local education and not be distributed elsewhere.

The council will consider a report from finance director Derek Yule that anticipates having to make savings of up to £72million over three years and bridging a budget gap in 2017-18 of £26million.

Tax bills for about 30,000 homes within bands E to H will increase by up to £500 a year while bands A to D may be unchanged or rise by no more than 3%.

The council has forecast a 4% cut in government grant next April and the authority being a quarter its current size in three years’ time.

Council leader Margaret Davidson