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More Scots are being dragged into higher tax bands and being used by SNP ministers to pay for a \u201cballooning\u201d welfare bill, say Scottish Conservatives.<\/p>\n
The number paying higher rate income tax is now two and a half times greater than when Holyrood began setting rates and bands.<\/p>\n
According to the Scottish Fiscal Commission 788,000 workers will be in the higher rate bands in the next financial year if John Swinney\u2019s government once again freezes the threshold in Tuesday\u2019s budget. <\/p>\n
That compares to just 318,300 in 2017-18, when the SNP took charge of the thresholds.<\/p>\n
Due to SNP freezes, the threshold for paying the higher rate has barely moved (from \u00a343,430 in 2017-18 to \u00a343,663 in the current tax year). <\/p>\n
Had the threshold moved in line with rising salaries, only those earning more than \u00a358,500 would now be higher rate taxpayers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Scottish Conservatives described the freeze as a \u201cbrutal and deepening stealth tax\u201d on middle-income Scots who, they say, are being dragged into higher bands to pay for the SNP\u2019s welfare bill.<\/p>\n
Shadow Finance Secretary Craig Hoy is calling for the thresholds at which workers start paying income tax \u2013 and then pay the higher rate \u2013 to be increased in line with inflation in the budget, along with a cut in the basic rate to 19%.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese figures highlight how the SNP are using middle-income Scots as a cash cow to fund the ballooning benefits bill,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t those with the broadest shoulders, as the SNP try to pretend. John Swinney\u2019s government are clobbering nurses, teachers and police officers \u2013 and it has to stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cScots households are struggling to cope with rising bills from two high-tax, left-wing governments, and are crying out for help.<\/p>\n
\u201cScottish Conservatives are committed to giving workers and businesses a break by reining in Scotland\u2019s unaffordable welfare bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Scottish government argues that its tax regime is fair and progressive and that workers benefit from a range of travel and education benefits.<\/p>\n
There is some speculation that an \u201canomaly\u201d affecting middle earners will be corrected in the Scottish budget.<\/p>\n
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