Scottish Conservative shadow secretary for finance and local government Liz Smith MSP said: “This budget was as dismal and damaging for Scottish taxpayers and businesses as we had feared.
“Under the SNP, Scotland was already the highest taxed part of the UK – and the income tax rises announced by Shona Robison have only widened that gap and increased the burden on hard-working Scots.
“They mean that 100,000 more Scots are now paying the higher rate of tax.
“This will have a devastating effect on our ability to recruit and retain skilled workers, including the doctors and dentists Scotland’s under-resourced NHS desperately needs.
“The UK Government decided to give businesses 75 per cent rates relief. Shamefully, the Scottish Government has once again refused to provide similar support to the vast majority of Scottish firms.
“This betrayal again exposes Humza Yousaf’s ‘reset’ with business as a sham, because it increases Scottish firms’ competitive disadvantage with the rest of the UK.
“There is a complete abdication of responsibility by Shona Robison for her party’s running of the Scottish economy for the last 16 years. But the usual SNP excuse – it’s all Westminster’s fault – just won’t wash.
“If the Scottish economy had grown at the same rate as the UK economy, instead of being downgraded because of SNP mismanagement, ministers would have had billions more to play with – just as they would had they not squandered a fortune on failed projects.
“But SNP incompetence means she has also been forced to short-change key public services. When you remove the Scottish Government’s partial funding of the council tax freeze, the local government budget has again been cut – as have many others, including those for housing, rural affairs, trains, ferries, mental health and tackling alcohol and drugs.
“Nothing better illustrates the warped priorities of this SNP-Green coalition than its decision, amid these devastating cuts, to increase the constitution budget.”
Notes
Last year’s tax factsheet showed that 530,000 taxpayers paid the higher and top rates of tax.
This year’s tax factsheet shows that 648,000 Scots will pay the higher, advanced and top rates of tax.
2023-24: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/factsheet/2022/12/scottish-income-tax-factsheet-2023-24/documents/income-tax-policy-proposal-scottish-budget-2023-24/income-tax-policy-proposal-scottish-budget-2023-24/govscot%3Adocument/income-tax-policy-proposal-scottish-budget-2023-24.pdf
2024-25: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/factsheet/2023/12/scottish-income-tax-2024-25-factsheet/documents/income-tax-policy-proposal-scottish-budget-2024-25/income-tax-policy-proposal-scottish-budget-2024-25/govscot%3Adocument/income-tax-policy-proposal-scottish-budget-2024-25.pdf