SNP urged to give Scottish workers 'a break' by cutting taxes

The Scottish Tories said the tax burden was ‘far too high’

SNP ministers have been urged to give Scottish workers “a break” by cutting taxes in the upcoming Scottish Budget.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said the tax burden on workers and businesses was “far too high”.

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He said: “Scotland’s taxpayers cannot afford and do not deserve more taxes next year. They need a break after years of the SNP swiping their cash.”

It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £40 billion in tax rises as part of the UK Budget, with employers bearing the brunt.

She said her Budget would deliver an additional £3.4 billion for the Scottish Government next year, which she urged them to use “effectively”.

Mr Findlay said Labour had chosen to “hammer workers and declare war on business”, and called on SNP ministers to reduce taxes when they set out their own Budget plans on December 4.

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Speaking during First Minister’s Questions, Mr Findlay said: “The tax burden on Scottish workers and businesses is far too high, but the SNP and Labour think they are entitled to keep taking more and more while Scotland’s public services get worse and worse.

“This drives the disconnect between politicians and people. In the Scottish Budget, [First Minister] John Swinney could go another way. The SNP could stop raising taxes and let people keep more of their own hard-earned money.”

Mr Swinney accused the Tory leader of having “some nerve”. He said: “The problem with Mr Findlay is that he’s here today talking about tax cuts - every other day of the week, the Tories are here demanding we spend more money on different aspects of our public services.”

He said the Tories had inflicted a “horror show” on the country while in power in Westminster.

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Mr Swinney said: “Where I have sympathy with the Labour government in the UK is that they have inherited an entirely unsustainable set of circumstances in the public finances, because of the absolutely menacing agenda of the Conservative government for 14 years.

“And it is the ultimate deceit for Mr Findlay and the Conservatives to criticise those of us who have to take difficult decisions to clear up the mess that the Conservatives have created.”

The First Minister said the Scottish Government had previously taken the decision to increase tax in order to improve public services.

Elsewhere, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the Chancellor had delivered the “largest block grant settlement to the Scottish Parliament in the history of devolution”.

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He said: “But more money is one thing - how the SNP Government chooses to spend it is another. The fact is that this is an incompetent SNP Government that is bad with taxpayers’ money, so more of the same won’t cut it.”

He called on the First Minister to “end the blame game, end the SNP financial mismanagement, end SNP incompetence and waste, and ensure that Scots benefit from this transformative budget”.

Mr Swinney said the Scottish Government would deliver “careful stewardship of the public finances” and “balance the books”.

Earlier, he said the UK Budget was “a step in the right direction” and welcomed the additional money coming to Scotland.

However, he criticised Labour for failing to end the two-child benefit cap, which he said was forcing families into poverty.

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