Bereft of ideas, they pick nation’s pockets

IT was billed as a Budget to get Scotland back on its feet – but in reality it was another brazen raid on the nation’s pay packets.

Presented by a failing Government with no credible plan for economic recovery, its primary focus was on shoring up the state by penalising hard-working families.

The freezing of income tax thresholds means some 66,000 people will be dragged into paying the higher rate of income tax.

This is set at £43,662 – compared with £50,271 south of the Border. It’s a punitive regime which has prioritised picking the nation’s pockets over giving it the boost it needs during a crippling pandemic.

And it represents another outrageous assault on the middle classes – and indeed on anyone who aspires to work hard and earn more.

The SNP – now in a pact with the Marxist Greens – was always tin-eared on how to grow the economy, and now appears to have given up any pretence of doing so.

The council tax freeze was introduced after years of local authorities relentlessly ramping up the levy – often by double-digit percentage increases.

Now town halls have been given free rein to hit householders with inflation-busting hikes again – and there can be little doubt they will seize the opportunity to do so.

This is partly a result of the Nationalists slashing the core budget of local government. And by giving local authorities the power to hike the tax, it allows the Nationalists to avoid shouldering the blame from Scotland’s angry homeowners and tenants.

Soaring council tax could be a major blow for families when many are experiencing the biggest squeeze on household finances since the financial crash of 2008.

Electricity and gas bills have rocketed – and the Government has no discernible strategy for tackling the energy crisis beyond sacrificing oil industry jobs to a reckless green agenda.

Meanwhile, businesses have been told rates relief will only continue for the first three months of the next financial year.

This is a low-aspiration Budget that will add to the divide between the private and public sectors. And it will make the state more bloated at the expense of struggling firms – and the many thousands of Scots left with badly depleted bank balances.