SNP Budget battle
Lib Dems quit as Nationalists refuse to pause independence push
‘A brand new tax on households’
SCOTLAND’S Budget has been thrown into chaos as talks to get the SNP’s financial plans through parliament broke down.
The Greens, the party most likely to side with the Scottish Government, has refused even to begin official negotiations with Finance Secretary Derek Mackay.
Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie is demanding a radical overhaul of local tax which would hit families across Scotland – a move he has described as a ‘red line’.
The Liberal Democrats have pulled out of negotiations after Mr Mackay refused to ‘take independence off the table’.
The Conservatives offered to work with the Government, but they also said an independence referendum must be ruled out – and have demanded that Mr Mackay does not allow the tax gap between Scotland and the rest of the UK to grow.
The Finance Secretary will unveil his spending plans for next year on Wednesday. He has pledged to ‘protect vital public services and prioritise spending on health, education and economic investment’.
But to pass his Budget he will have to secure a deal because the SNP does not have an outright majority at Holyrood. The past two Budgets have received the support of the Greens.
Mr Harvie said: ‘We have been given a clear instruction from our party members that we can only enter formal Budget negotiations if there is meaningful progress on local tax reform to make a fairer system that protects services and cuts inequality. Replacing council tax with a fairer alternative can’t happen overnight but the work must begin now.’
Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie admitted he has walked away from talks with Mr Mackay, saying the SNP could ‘not agree to even a short cessation in their independence campaign’.
Scottish Labour, meanwhile, has put forward proposals seeking a top up for child benefit, a freeze on rail fares and a reversal of council cuts.
Tax rates and bands introduced by the SNP last year mean that Scots earning more than £26,000 pay more than their counterparts south of the Border.
Yesterday, Tory finance spokesman Murdo Fraser pointed to figures showing that Scotland has received a cash boost of £1.6billion this year – which he said could be used to improve public services without raising taxes.
He added: ‘Despite Patrick Harvie’s protestations, we all know that the Greens will once again be teaming up with the SNP to pass the Budget.
‘And we know what the cost of this will be – a brand new tax on households across Scotland.
‘With the amount of money available to Derek Mackay going up thanks to the UK Budget, there is no need for them to hammer Scots with yet more tax rises. Scotland doesn’t need more hard-Left policies, it needs a fair deal on tax.’
Mr Harvie wants the SNP to scrap the council tax and replace it with a residential property tax set at around 1 per cent of a house’s value minus £10,000. This would hammer all but low-value band A and B homes. A family living in a house worth £180,000 would pay up to £500 more.
A spokesman for Mr Mackay said: ‘Brexit remains the biggest threat to Scotland’s prosperity and public spending. In every area of the country there will be businesses, organisations, communities, people and families who will suffer if we leave the single market and customs union.’