An East Renfrewshire politician has claimed that 22,000 local people will be hit by a tax hike in the Scottish Budget.
East Renfrewshire MP, Paul Masterton said the SNP and the Green party joined together in Holyrood to push through changes which will see the area hit with income tax increases.
Mr Masterton points out that the changes mean that anyone earning more than £26,000 a year will pay more tax than they would if they lived in England. East Renfrewshire has a high amount of high earners living within its boundaries that compared to other Council areas in Scotland.
Paul Masterton, said: “These income tax changes are extremely disappointing news for East Renfrewshire residents. It will see many hard-working families hit as a result of the SNP’s inability to grow the Scottish economy. This will also break a key manifesto pledge by the SNP not to raise income tax. Put simply, the people of East Renfrewshire are having to pick up the bill for a decade of the SNPs economic mismanagement.”
“There is also no good reason for Scottish taxpayers to be paying more than their friends and family in the rest of the UK.”
“Whilst some people will see an extremely small saving, this will be nothing compared to the increase in Council Tax coming round the corner from the SNP/Labour administration, and all at a time when councils are having to cut back services significantly. All this will lead to is less disposable income for those on the tightest budgets.
“East Renfrewshire is paying more to get less, and people here deserve better.”