There is no sign as yet of the debate about this month’s Scottish Budget tailing off.
At the last First Minister’s Questions of the year, Humza Yousaf became embroiled in a furious row with Douglas Ross and Anas Sarwar when he argued that the majority would pay less tax in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.
Today, one our readers contends that nonetheless, the Scottish Government is “milking” 49 per cent of us.
Keith Howell of West Linton writes:
"'No ifs, no buts, no maybes about it', said Humza Yousaf as he insisted that the majority would pay less tax in Scotland than the rest of the UK. He did not want us to think of the eye-watering levels of marginal tax that his Government will now take from so many middle and higher-income Scots. Far better to keep our focus on the fiscal sleight of hand whereby successive SNP finance secretaries have given a paltry amount of less than 50p a week to 51% of taxpayers to try to justify milking the other 49%.
"He wanted to give the impression that we are paying less tax in Scotland than our neighbours across the border, but the reality is we are now collectively paying £ 1.5 billion more tax to live in Scotland rather than elsewhere in the UK.
"Humza Yousaf spoke with the same level of conviction as his predecessor on her first day in office when she claimed she would work for everyone in Scotland not just those who voted for her, or later when she said we should judge her on her record on education. As we came to know to our cost, whenever Nicola Sturgeon spoke with such certainty was a red flag for what was to follow. Think also of the video of her “nothing to see here” remonstrations to colleagues on the SNP’s executive committee on the subject of the party’s finances.
"So when our current First Minister assures us so forcefully that they have our finances in hand and that most of us are paying less than our neighbours in the south, we know to think carefully about the real consequences for Scotland’s economy and all those working hard to try to make something of their lives."
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