Former Edinburgh District Council Housing and Finance convener JIMMY BURNETT was among the hundreds who took to take part in a demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament to protest at cuts to council budgets yesterday.
He supports Labour’s case for a 1p tax rise – and argues that we must pay more to support crucial public services:
I fully support a one penny tax rise. With the proposed rebate system, those earning £20,000 or less, would pay no additional tax. Those earning £30,000 would pay around £16.00 a month. Those earning £150,000, would pay an additional £28.00 a week, £112.00 extra per month.
And a penny tax rise would raise £1 billion to provide crucial services, which are currently being savagely cut by the Scottish government. And remember the SNP themselves previously proposed “A Penny Tax for Scotland.”
So those referred to as ” at the bottom ” would be protected, whilst the highest earners (Nicola Sturgeon would pay £130.000 a month extra) would pay significantly more.
I am astonished that some people who are apparently opposed to a 1p tax rise, or a small council tax rise, many of them relatively well-heeled, claim to speak on behalf of “those at the bottom”. Perhaps they would, in light of the facts below, explain rationally why they oppose the tax rise, explained factually, above, and the implications of a small council tax rise, set out below?
A council tax rise of 2% in Edinburgh, would raise £7 million for crucial services, and cost ” those at the bottom”, 20p a week. And of course, a significant number of “those at the bottom” receive a full or partial rebate.
I suspect many of these who are opposing any tax rise are doing so either because, with a penny tax rise, they would be paying a bit more than “those at the bottom”, whilst being more than happy to benefit from free prescriptions and free travel, currently financed by cuts in other services.
Meanwhile, yesterday, the unions representing the lowest paid, called for the Scottish Government to implement the 1p rise, end the council tax freeze and reverse their £500 million cuts to local councils.
I know whose views I support.
Pictures: Jimmy Burnett
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