Salmond & Stevenson Say "Axe the Council Tax"

Banff & Buchan SNP Parliamentarians Alex Salmond MP and Stewart Stevenson MSP have thrown their support behind SNP plans for reform of the Council Tax system.

Half a million pensioners will be taken out of local taxation under plans announced by Shadow First Minister John Swinney MSP, while hundreds of thousands more Scots will see their bills fall.

Welcoming the publication of detailed proposals, Mr Salmond outlined what abolishing the Council Tax and introducing a Local Income Tax would mean for typical taxpayers. For instance:

• A typical single pensioner on a low income would pay nothing.
• A pensioner couple with an income of £11,500 would save an average of £933 per year on a band D home.
• A single parent with an income of £13,400 would save an average £322 per year on a band B home.
• A family with a joint income of £38,400 would be largely unaffected, saving on average £13 per year on a band D home.
• A more affluent family with a joint income of £52,000 would see a modest average increase of just £74 per year on a band F home.
• High earners with a joint income of £136,000 would see their bills increase by, on average, more than £3000 per year for a band H home.

Commenting, Mr Salmond said:

“Pensioners are being penalised under the Council Tax for working hard and saving hard all their lives. Bills of two thousand pounds and more being meted out to people on incomes well below the average wage is simply unjust.

“Under the SNP proposals, something approaching half a million pensioners will be taken out of the local taxation system altogether. Those pensioners on higher incomes who do pay will only pay what they can afford.”

Local MSP Stewart Stevenson added:

“These proposals offer help, not just to pensioners but also to hundreds of thousands people in Scotland on modest and low incomes. They will see their bills cut dramatically and the principle of ability to pay introduced into local taxation.

"Local Income Tax works because everyone who can pay makes a contribution. It spreads the burden of taxation across all those who can afford it and lifts the burden from the shoulders of those who can't.

“This proposal offers a chance for Scotland to end the unjust council tax and move on to a fairer future. It's time to axe the tax.”