Aberdeenshire Council’s ruling SNP group has been challenged to put north-east residents before “the party in Edinburgh” as the row over proposed changes to council tax deepens.
Under Scottish Government plans, homeowners in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will hand over £47million in local government tax rises – money which will be spent on services elsewhere in the country.
Opposition politicians have reacted angrily to the proposals, which include increased bills for people living in band E-H homes.
A disproportionate number of households – 41% – in Aberdeenshire will be affected by the rises, compared with a national average of 25%.
Labour-controlled Aberdeen City Council has already criticised the plans, but now the Tories’ five north-east MSPs are challenging the SNP in Aberdeenshire to follow suit.
In a joint statement, Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett and north-east regional members Alex Johnstone, Ross Thomson, Peter Chapman and Liam Kerr said: “It is time for Aberdeenshire Council’s SNP group to make a decision – are they going to represent the interests of north-east residents, or are they going to toe the party line?
“Aberdeen City Council has already said that they will fight this plan to redistribute council tax revenue, which will not benefit this area.
“We believe that taxes collected locally should be spent locally on crucial services like schools, roads and elderly care.”
The five MSPs suggested people living in Band E and F properties were “not the rich” and that families were being “penalised” because of high property values in the region.
They added: “Given the difficulties facing the north-east economy right now, the last thing people need is to see their bills going up.
“And if the bills are to rise, they will want that money to help hire more teachers to plug the many gaps in our local education system, not to be shipped off to schools in Glasgow.
“SNP politicians here in the north-east must show where their priorities lie, will they put the people here or the party in Edinburgh first?”
Cllr Richard Thomson, said:”The Council Tax reforms will make the tax more progressive by leaving lower earners in band A-D houses untouched while raising an additional £100m to improve educational attainment right across Scotland. Three quarters of people across the country will end up paying the same or less under these plans.
“Sadly, the Tories have nothing at all to say about the need to target resources at improving attainment amongst pupils from the least well-off backgrounds. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems think that the way to get resources to improve schools is through a £500m increase in the basic rate of income tax. They should be honest enough to admit that their tax plans would hit the lowest earning households in Aberdeenshire by far the hardest.
“We are currently in dialogue with Scottish Ministers about how this policy will work in practice. There is a great deal of hidden poverty in Aberdeenshire, particularly in rural areas, which is not picked up well by the official indicators. We will be making sure that Aberdeenshire’s voice is heard in those discussions and that the case is made for extra resources go to where they are most needed in Aberdeenshire as well.”