Taxing issue for the Nationalists

Should those who earn more pay more? Andif so, how much more? Ordomiddle income folk already pay enough and should there be more done to get more people into work, paying tax, and off benefits?

These are some of the critical questions that face the Scottish Government as we wind our way towards next May’s Holyrood elections.

The SNP has already set its stall out by declaring its support for progressive forms of taxation so that those with the greatest wealth pay, as they see it, their fair share.

And will we see the SNP pitching its bid for another term in office with the prospect of new and more expensive bands for those who live in houses considered to be worth more than £212,000?

That would inevitably hit those who are in areas of high house prices the hardest — and that inevitably means parts of the north and northeast, while protecting some of the less affluent areas of Scotland where SNP support is at its most concentrated. Andmanyof those living in houses above £212,000 would never consider themselves wealthy.

Protecting the poor is a fundamental principle of any decent and caring society and someone has to pay, but there’s also a fine balance to be struck in not making it seem that the government wants to squeeze those who have worked hard to pay for their own home.

Inraising the higherendbandsof council tax the SNP would be increasing receipts at a time of a council tax freeze. It’s a clever ploy, but by hitting older or middle-income earners could it make them pariahs not populists?

“The SNP has already set its stall out by declaring its support for progressive taxation”