Taxation shambles

IT might be tempting to think that a blight at the top end of the property market matters little to most of us.

If the very wealthy have to knock 10 per cent off the price of a mansion, so what?

Trouble is, a logjam in the upper section of the property market tends to cause problems lower down.

And once again the Scottish Government’s Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) is under scrutiny.

Touted as the first tax levied by a government in edinburgh in 300 years, it was to be John Swinney’s moment in the sun as Finance Secretary.

But it has proved an ill thought-out shambles, immediately subject to a major revision when it became clear Scots would have to pay much more than their english counterparts.

Since then it has served only to underscore how little the SNP knows about the economy as it has caused a series of slowdowns throughout the property market.

And this matters to us all whether we are selling, buying or renting.

The unconvincing Derek Mackay is now in charge at finance and his budget calculations are based on estimates of how much LBTT will bring in.

It’s much less than predicted, blowing a hole in his figures.

Scots are already the highest-taxed workers in the UK. how long before Mr Mackay comes looking for more, more, more to keep his spendthrift Government in funds?