Tax rise leaves us lagging behind

It takes a particular kind of financial genius to deliver a budget which both increases the tax gap, and cuts services, but that is exactly what we had last month from the SNP finance secretary Derek Mackay.

The reality is that Mr Mackay was starting with a favourable financial position.

Spending decisions on increasing NHS funding in England by the UK chancellor, Phillip Hammond, meant he had more money than he was expecting: £950 million in Barnett consequentials. The Westminster block grant to Scotland was therefore up.

Against this backdrop, there was no need for either a cut in services or an increase in the tax gap between Scotland and the rest of the UK. And yet, Mr Mackay managed to deliver both.

The tax announcements from the SNP finance secretary particularly affect those earning in the bracket between £43,430 and £50,000, who will now face a marginal tax rate of 53 per cent on every extra pound they earn.

This means a police sergeant earning £45,942 will pay over £700 in tax more than his counterpart south of the border.

A senior nurse manager earning £49,000 will pay £1350 more, and a principal teacher earning £51,330 will pay over £1500 more. That is the price of living in the SNP’s Scotland.

And anyone earning £27,000 or more will be paying more tax than their equivalents in the rest of the UK.

No one can seriously argue that a household with an income of £27,000 is rich, and yet these are the people being punished.

It is little wonder so many business organisations in Scotland have expressed concern about these tax changes, and the impact they will have on Scotland’s potential for economic growth.

We know that Scotland is lagging behind the UK when it comes to growing our economy, and the projections are that this will continue for at least the next four years.

A lower economic growth means a lower tax take, and less money to spend in the future on public services.

The other side of the budget is that services will suffer.

The core grant to Perth and Kinross Council is being cut by 2.6 per cent in real terms.

That means there are vital local amenities run by our local council which will have to be cut back, due to these SNP decisions.

So next time we see any local SNP politician calling for Perth and Kinross Council to spend money in one area or the other, we should not forget that it is their party in government that has actually cut the local council’s core budget.

What this budget should have been about was growing the economy, thus increasing GDP and delivering additional tax revenues. That is the alternative that the Scottish Conservatives propose.

I always welcome feedback from constituents.

Ican be contacted at The Control Tower, Perth Airport, Scone, PH2 6PL, by email on murdo.fraser.msp@ parliament.scot or by telephone on 01738 553676. The funeral has taken place at Perth Crematorium of former Clyde and Dundee footballer Ally Hill who died in a Blairgowrie nursing home a week before Christmas.

Ally, who was 84, went senior with Clyde after being talent spotted while with Perth side Jeanfield Swifts.

He lifted a Scottish Cup winners’ medal in 1955 after the Shawfield side defeated Celtic 1-0 in a replay at Hampden, the first televised final, watched by over 106,000 fans.

He was also a regular goal scorer for Dundee before going on to play for Bristol City, Stirling Albion and Falkirk.

After his playing career was cut short by injury, he returned to the junior ranks, training Perth Celtic for several seasons, helping to produce several players who made the senior ranks.

In a wide-ranging eulogy given by celebrant Lynne Mitchell, she paid tribute to Ally, describing him as “a man of many talents.”

She explained: “Allegedly it takes 10,000 hours’ practice to master any one skill.

“Ally didn’t just master one - he mastered several.

“He earned his place in football history and he was a craftsman in his own right in his trade.

“But he was more than that. He was a man of character and of resilience.

“He suffered no fools and took no prisoners but he was a loyal and dependable friend.

“He also had hidden depths and hidden talents - his love of dancing, of singing, his knack at fishing, his love of reading.

“He was open-handed and generous to a fault and he was a