Sturgeon says she wants to agree a deal with Greens to replace council tax system in the long term
NICOLA Sturgeon has opened the door to a town hall revolution by saying she wants to agree a long-term overhaul of local taxation with the Greens.
The First Minister held out the olive branch after the party’s six MSPS warned they wouldn’t back the SNP’S Budget without major progress on the issue.
Ms Sturgeon said there was a willingness to commit “to local tax reform and a greater commitment to the devolution of tax powers to local authorities”.
The Tories said it pointed to a stitch-up on the Budget which would “introduce yet another new tax on households”.
The Greens have long demanded a fundamental shift in local taxation, with councils given the ability to raise far more of their budget, including the power to set business rates.
They want to scrap council tax, which is based on home values in 1991, and replace it with an annual levy of around 1% of the value of a person’s house, ramping up bills for those in the more expensive properties.
After helping the minority SNP administration secure its last two Budgets, the Greens warned earlier this year that it would not back a third without meaningful progress on tax reform.
However when Derek Mackay presented his 2019/20 draft Budget on Wednesday, there was “not a word” in it about tax reform, the Greens complained.
As the budget dominated First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood, Green co-convener Patrick Harvie said he was fed up with empty government offers of “dialogue” on the subject.”
He said: “When will we hear a response from the Scottish
Government? When will it show any hint of urgency or leadership, even in making its own policy on [scrapping] council tax a reality?”
Ms Sturgeon said: “I very much hope that we can come to an agreement that sees a commitment made to local tax reform and a greater commitment to the devolution of tax powers to local authorities. There is a willingness to do that.”
Mr Harvie appeared sceptical, saying later: “The clock is ticking – this Government needs to get serious about local tax reform.”
The SNP promised to abolish council tax when it came to power in 2007, but its proposed replacement proved unworkable, and it ended up freezing the levy for nine years instead.
Last year it replaced the freeze with a 3 per cent cap on annual rises, and hiked bills for Band E to H properties.
Tory local government spokesman Alexander Stewart said: “We know that the SNP and the Greens are preparing to stitch up a deal this year. We know the Greens want to introduce yet another new tax on households across Scotland. It now appears Nicola Sturgeon is preparing to do their bidding in order to get her Budget over the line.”
Also at FMQS, acting Tory leader Jackson Carlaw claimed the Budget would make some low-paid Scots just 49p better off because of the SNP decisions.
However Chancellor Philip Hammond’s decision to raise the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500 would make the same people £130 a year better off.
He told Ms Sturgeon: “That’s the real difference – a £130 tax cut for low paid workers delivered by the Conservatives while the SNP give them the price of a packet of crisps.”
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard pressed the First Minister to use £69m, or 0.2% of the Budget, to offset the impact of the two-child cap on benefits affecting 3,780 families.
Ms Sturgeon said all the resources in the budget had been allocated and if any party wanted more spending, they had to say what would be cut instead.
She said she “would love to do what Richard Leonard is suggesting on the two-child cap”, but there was also “basic arithmetic” to consider.