Swinney's high tax boast ‘offensive' to Scots, say Tories

Telegraph

13 hours ago

John Swinney has been criticised for arguing that the UK Government could have avoided a 'fiscal nightmare' by emulating his party's tax assault on higher earners.
Opposition politicians described the SNP leader's claim as 'deluded' and 'offensive' to many families in Scotland who pay more income tax than those south of the border.
Mr Swinney responded after Sir Keir Starmer was forced into a U-turn on his flagship welfare reform programme following a rebellion by backbench Labour MPs.
Writing for The Scotsman on Friday, the First Minister said: 'Labour could have avoided the fiscal nightmare currently tearing them apart if Keir Starmer had the courage to do what the SNP have done, and ask high earners to pay more tax.'
It prompted a backlash from the Scottish Conservatives, who described Mr Swinney's position as 'astonishing' and accused him of 'contempt for hard-working, over-taxed Scots'.
The party also highlighted that the SNP had presided over sluggish economic growth north of the border.
'To boast that hiking taxes is an act of courage by the SNP is deluded and offensive,' said Craig Hoy, the Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary.
'The brave thing to do would be to reduce Scotland's unaffordable benefits bill and bloated public sector, as the Scottish Conservatives are committed to doing.
'But John Swinney repeatedly ducks that challenge in favour of yet more tax hikes which are choking economic growth and squeezing household budgets to breaking point.
'Keir Starmer is deeply unpopular precisely because he has clobbered the public and businesses with a series of tax rises which broke Labour's pre-election promises.
'It beggars belief that the SNP leader, who has made Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK, thinks the Prime Minister should actually be raising taxes further still on hard-working households.'
At present, workers in Scotland who earn more than £30,300 pay more into the state than their English and Welsh counterparts.
The tax differential rises with earnings, with a taxpayer on a £50,000 annual salary paying £1,528 more a year in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.
An individual on £100,000 pays £3,332 more and those earning at least £125,000 pay £5,221 more, equivalent to a 7 per cent reduction in their after-tax income.
Earlier in the week, Mr Swinney accused the UK government of taking an 'absolutely appalling' approach to reform.
Labour ministers were forced to U-turn on some cuts to Universal Credit and plans to introduce stricter eligibility rules for personal independence payment (Pip) claimants.
The changes to Pip would not have directly applied in Scotland, where the benefit is being phased out for a devolved alternative but could have affected the amount of money allocated to Holyrood.
Ian Murray, the Scottish Secretary, has said that failure to reform the welfare system will see it 'explode in terms of [it] being unsustainable financially for the taxpayer, but also we're writing hundreds of thousands of people out of the workforce.'