Time To Abolish The Council Tax - Not Freeze It
The opinion polls suggest Labour and the SNP are neck and neck in the race for Holyrood 2011. Interestingly both parties now support a freeze in Council Tax bills for the next year. They arrived at this 'freeze' via different routes however.
Like the Scottish Socialist Party the SNP are opposed to the Council Tax in principle, believing, as the majority of Scots do, that it is unfair and hits the less well off disproportionately hard. The Council Tax is indeed a regressive tax that bears no relation to a person's income. Consequently the least well off are hit hardest as the wealthy pay coppers. Since they have not been able to replace it with an income based alternative, the SNP have settled for second be stand 'freezing' the current charges.
Labour on the other hand has no principled objection to the Council Tax. They argue for a freeze on the grounds that they purportedly want to 'help hard working families in this time of austerity'. Most people believe that it has more to do with avoiding being politically outmanoeuvred by the SNP. Either way freezing the Council Tax does nothing to address it's fundamental unfairness. Indeed it may be argued a freeze helps the rich most of all.
As things stand the wealthy in Scotland pay a tiny tiny percentage of their income on this bill. For example,Stephen Hestor (the CEO of RBS) was just awarded a £7.7 million pay package for the coming year. Living in Edinburgh his Council Tax bill will again be frozen at £2,338 or 0.03% of his salary whilst some pensioners are paying 25% of their income on theirs.
The Scottish Socialist Part believes this is utterly unacceptable and this week we will highlight our fully costed proposals for a local income tax to replace the Council Tax. Our plans would mean the burden would be lifted from the shoulders of of pensioners, low paid workers and the poor and at the same time force the wealthy to pay their fair share for a change.
Here's how it works. Each individual in Scotland will pay towards the funding of local services but the more you earn the more you pay. So, for example, if your income is less than £10,000 you are exempt. That's too low to force people to contribute. Thereafter, on incomes over £10,000 and up to £30,000 you pay 4.5%. So if you are on £200,000 your bill is £450 [4.5% of the earnings over £10,000] If you earn more than £30,000 you pay nothing on the first £10,000, 4.5% on the next £20,000 and 10% on the earnings over £30,000. The next incremental step is to 15% on earnings over £50,000 and 20% on earnings over £100,000. This graduated rate (which the SNP opposes) is fairer and ensures that as your income goes up so does your tax obligation.
Economists at Paisley University who scrutinised these figures found that 77% of Scots will be better off compared to now. Furthermore, using the latest Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs figures, they are able to demonstrate that these proposals would bring another £1.5 billion into Holyrood's Treasury.
So, not only would this tax be fairer and redistributive, it would also halt the need for any cuts to public services in Scotland. And that's a freeze we DO need.
Taken from Colin Fox's blog @ http://sspcolinfox.blogspot.com
Kevin McVey is 45 and has been actively involved in politics since 1984. Expelled from the Labour Party in 1989/90 for his involvement in local and national anti-poll tax campaigning, Kevin was a founding member of the SSP.
Frances, 49, was SSP MSP for the West of Scotland from 2003-2007, introducing a bill to provide free school meals which was ultimately voted down by the Parliament. Frances got involved in socialist politics when she joined the Labour Party Young Socialists in the early years of the Thatcher government, eventually being elected onto the Labour Party National Executive at 23 years old. Frances is currently co-spokesperson for the SSP.
Pam is 35 years old and lives in Glasgow with her cat, Banjo. She teaches in a Further Education college and is an activist in the EIS teachers’ union.
Colin joined Motherwell Labour Party Young Socialists in 1980, beginning a life of campaigning for socialism that continues 30 years on. Colin was SSP MSP for the Lothians from 2003-2007 and is co-spokesperson for the SSP. As an MSP Colin pioneered the campaign to abolish Prescription Charges which has resulted in free Prescriptions in Scotland. Colin co-organises the Edinburgh Mayday Festival and re-founded the Edinburgh People's Festival in 2002. Aged 51, Colin lives in the Inch area of Edinburgh with his wife and two children.
Morag is a Quaker, vice-chair of Scottish CND and a member of the Iona Community. A firm believer in nonviolence, Morag regularly participates in peaceful direct action at Faslane. Morag has been a tireless campaigner for nuclear disarmament and to prevent the building of a massive landfill site in the West of Fife.
Angela Gorrie, 23, first came to Dundee in 2005 to study at Dundee University where she was active in the campaign to remove Special Branch from campus and the fight for young workers' rights. Now working in customer services and a member of USDAW, she has recently been involved in campaigns ranging from the retention of local services and calling to end unfair hospital parking charges to highlighting the inequality of the current Council Tax.
An SSP member since 2001, Colin was a candidate for the Party in the 2005 and 2007 elections. He has been a qualified social worker since the late 1970s, working with the victims of a system that breeds inequality, racism and poverty. Very interested in rural affairs, he is author of the SSP pamphlet ‘Rural Socialism and Scotland in the 21st Century’ and is an ardent campaigner for the rights of Scottish Gypsy Travellers.
Jim is SSP councillor for Leven Ward on West Dunbartonshire council. 63 years old, Jim first got involved in socialist politics 40 years ago when shop steward at Babcocks. Jim was at the forefront in the campaign to save Leven Cottage care home and the campaigns to save two primary schools, Christie Park and Renton Primary.
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