Middle income north-east families will be disproportionately hammered by the SNP’s tax plans, the Press and Journal can reveal today.
Nicola Sturgeon’s planned income and council tax raid will hit nearly a third of north-east homes.
The revelation, which comes after the SNP launched their manifesto, casts doubt on the nationalists’ claim that it is only the “better off” that will foot the bill for their tax and spend policies.
The Scottish Conservatives, who argue tax in Scotland should be no higher than the rest of the UK, have claimed the figures show the SNP plans would “squeeze middle income families at a time when the north-east economy is struggling”.
Ms Sturgeon’s manifesto has confirmed the party do not intend to pass on George Osborne’s raising of the higher rate tax threshold to £45,000. The SNP has also planned a council tax hike for people living in Band E to H properties.
Last night the SNP said the Tories should be “ashamed of themselves” for the “deeply insulting suggestion” people in the north-east “aren’t happy to pay their fair share”.
But Ross Thomson, the Tory’s candidate for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, said: “It is simply wrong to suggest that it is only the rich or better off who would benefit from the increase to the threshold at which people pay the higher 40p rate of tax.
“Many people in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, who do not by any means consider themselves well off, will fall into this bracket.
“We already know that in the last five years alone, 140,000 Scots on middle incomes, including nurses and teachers, have been dragged into paying the higher rate of tax.”
The latest government figures show that 26% of households in Aberdeen City – and 30% in Aberdeenshire – have an income above £40,000, compared with a national average of 18%.
The income tax rise will be in addition to a council tax hike for people living in Band E to H properties, with 41% of homes in Aberdeenshire affected compared with 25% nationally.
Last night an SNP spokesman said the additional revenues would be used to invest in the north-east.
He added: “The Tories should be ashamed of themselves for trying to divide Scotland like this and play different parts of the country off against each other – the north-east’s relative wealth is a very good thing, and to suggest people in the region aren’t happy to pay their fair share is deeply insulting.
“We are committed to using our new tax powers fairly and responsibly and we will not ask those on low and middle incomes to pay the price of Tory austerity through higher taxes.”