CRAIG HOY: Crying for help as we all try to stay afloat in an ocean of rising bills
Scottish households and businesses are crying out for help as they struggle to keep afloat in a sea of rising bills.
Scottish households and businesses are crying out for help as they struggle to keep afloat in a sea of rising bills. Any sensible government would recognise that support is essential in this week’s budget and act accordingly.
Sadly, I won’t be holding my breath because it’s being presented by the party that has actively fuelled the cost-of-living crisis for years.
The SNP’s tax-and-spend policies have brought families and businesses to breaking point to pay for a spiralling benefits bill.
The majority of Scots workers already pay more income tax than they would in England, with middle-earners on around £50,000 being hit for £1,500 more.
Without a reversal of the freeze on thresholds proposed by Labour and the Nats, most full-time workers will be dragged into higher tax bands by 2029.
Yes, that’s right, the average full-time worker, not ‘those with the broadest shoulders’ as the SNP like to pretend. If this continues, by the end of the next Scottish Parliament they will be forking out an extra £1,800 per year.
Hammering Scots with the highest taxes in the UK might be justifiable if we got more in return, but under John Swinney’s government our NHS, schools and other frontline services are going backwards.
The SNP are incapable of reducing costs. They announced that they intended to save £1billion a year on government admin. Since then, there’s been a huge increase in salary costs.
Scottish households are crying out for help as they struggle to keep afloat in a sea of rising bills
While people struggle with soaring energy, food and housing bills, the SNP are spending £1.3 billion more on benefits than they receive through the block grant every single year. By the end of the decade, Scotland’s total welfare bill will be nearly £10 billion.
The only place to get that money will be from the taxpayer’s pocket. And John Swinney, if he’s still First Minister, won’t hesitate to take that option, because he doesn’t just excuse higher taxes as an unfortunate necessity – he thinks they’re a good thing, and frequently boasts about it.
He and Shona Robison are fond of saying that they are “asking” people to pay more, as if it were an option, like donating to charity.
But Scottish taxpayers have to , whether they like it or not.