Greens urge SNP to agree to 'mansion tax' in Scottish Budget on 'luxurious' homes over £1m

The party’s finance spokesperson, Ross Greer, said the levy on “the biggest and most luxurious houses” could be “introduced by the SNP now”.

The Greens, who are the most likely party to help the Scottish Government’s Budget pass, want SNP ministers to introduce a new band of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax the purchase of homes costing over £1 million.

The top rate of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) for residential properties is 12 per cent on £750,000 and above. The Scottish Greens are proposing a new 12 per cent rate starting at £650,000 and a 15 per cent rate from £1m.

READ MORE: Inside the Scottish Budget negotiations, as Greens want policies woven into SNP plans

Mr Greer said: “[A total of] 14 years of Tory cuts have left Scotland’s budget in a dire state. Sadly, the new Labour government shows every sign of going further and deeper with their own cuts to public services. We must use every tool available to us here in Scotland to protect people and planet from the damage these budget cuts would do.

“A mansion tax on the biggest and most luxurious houses is one of many ways we can raise more money to support services like the NHS while only impacting the very wealthiest people.”

He added: “There is more than enough wealth in Scotland to end child poverty tomorrow, but far too much of it is in the hands of a very small number of extremely rich people and big companies.

“The powers needed to tax them fairly mostly sit at Westminster rather than Holyrood. But we can use tools like Scottish property taxes to make sure the richest people in society pay a bit more when they are buying a new house.”

Earlier this month, Mr Greer told Scotland on Sunday that his party would not agree to the SNP simply trying to “drop a bit of green spending on top” of their plans and will want Green policies weaved through the budget.

READ MORE: Labour insists Holyrood set for public spending boost despite £40bn Budget gap

He said the Greens would table “a broad range of options”, but were “not designing an escalating series of red lines”. But he warned the Green demands would be “politically challenging” for the SNP to agree to.

Mr Greer said: “If they want Green votes to pass the Government’s Budget, they know that the price of our support is more funding to tackle child poverty and the climate crisis. We are being clear about where that money could be raised from.”

Budget negotiations between SNP ministers and all opposition parties, including the Greens, are expected to ramp up following the UK Budget next week.

Scottish Labour minister Michael Shanks suggested on Sunday “there will be more money going into public services”.

Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “The Scottish Government has taken a progressive approach to the setting of rates and bands for residential LBTT reflecting the specifics of the Scottish housing market.

“Our approach helps prioritise support for first-time buyers and home movers as they move through the market while also raising vital revenue to support public services. Decisions on the rates and bands of LBTT are taken as part of the Scottish Budget process.”