GMB Scotland is among the organisations who will lobby Holyrood this afternoon and call on the Scottish government to end the eight-year Council Tax freeze.
The union says it’s not right that wealthy Scottish households pay less council tax in real terms than eight years ago leading to cuts to jobs and services in Scotland’s least affluent areas.
GMB Scotland will be holding a protest to coincide with the final reading of the Budget this afternoon outside the Scottish Parliament to call on all MSPs to repair the erosion in the tax base in Scotland due to freezing council tax for eight years.
This GMB Scotland protest takes place as councils across Scotland face severe cuts and job losses.
The protest is linked to a new report showing that, had council tax kept pace with inflation of 25.61% since 2007, the 32 local authorities in Scotland would be raising £484m in additional income for 2016-17. Edinburgh City Council would raise an additional £50 million.
The table below sets out the figures for the amount of council tax income in all 32 councils in 2007-8 and how much each council would raise as additional income had the council tax kept pace with inflation of 25.61% since 2007.
| Council Tax Income by Local Authority, 2007-08 |  |
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| Source: Scottish Government | |
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Council Tax Income (1) 2007-08 |
Additional Council Tax Income from keeping pace with RPI of 25.61% |
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| Scotland |
£1,889,913,000 |
£483,965,133 |
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| Edinburgh, City of |
£195,530,000 |
£50,070,931 |
| Glasgow City |
£176,041,000 |
£45,080,226 |
| Fife |
£126,622,000 |
£32,425,108 |
| Aberdeenshire |
£105,664,000 |
£27,058,225 |
| South Lanarkshire |
£103,845,000 |
£26,592,419 |
| North Lanarkshire |
£94,749,000 |
£24,263,134 |
| Aberdeen City |
£94,208,000 |
£24,124,596 |
| Highland |
£91,940,000 |
£23,543,811 |
| Perth & Kinross |
£63,412,000 |
£16,238,418 |
| Renfrewshire |
£61,815,000 |
£15,829,461 |
| West Lothian |
£56,132,000 |
£14,374,170 |
| Dumfries & Galloway |
£52,178,000 |
£13,361,638 |
| Falkirk |
£50,796,000 |
£13,007,738 |
| East Dunbartonshire |
£47,338,000 |
£12,122,220 |
| North Ayrshire |
£44,902,000 |
£11,498,414 |
| South Ayrshire |
£44,694,000 |
£11,445,150 |
| Dundee City |
£44,641,000 |
£11,431,578 |
| Scottish Borders |
£43,115,000 |
£11,040,803 |
| Argyll & Bute |
£40,385,000 |
£10,341,710 |
| East Lothian |
£39,797,000 |
£10,191,136 |
| East Renfrewshire |
£39,575,000 |
£10,134,287 |
| Stirling |
£39,001,000 |
£9,987,298 |
| Angus |
£38,757,000 |
£9,924,815 |
| East Ayrshire |
£37,271,000 |
£9,544,283 |
| Moray |
£32,653,000 |
£8,361,715 |
| Midlothian |
£30,986,000 |
£7,934,833 |
| West Dunbartonshire |
£28,696,000 |
£7,348,414 |
| Inverclyde |
£25,346,000 |
£6,490,553 |
| Clackmannanshire |
£17,572,000 |
£4,499,803 |
| Eilean Siar |
£8,094,000 |
£2,072,695 |
| Shetland Islands |
£7,425,000 |
£1,901,379 |
| Orkney Islands |
£6,733,000 |
£1,724,173 |
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| 1 – excluding Council Tax Benefit, including Community Charge | |
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Gary Smith, Secretary GMB Scotland, said: “Before the final reading of the Budget today trade unionists from across Scotland will be protesting outside Holyrood and calling even at the eleventh hour for Scottish Government Ministers and backbenchers to change their mind.
“Government Ministers need to take their heads out of the sand about the devastating impact of the cuts they are making on essential local services right across Scotland.
“GMB research suggests that more than 8,000 jobs could be lost if the current Budget cuts are carried next week. For John Swinney to describe that as “minimal” is simply insulting to every local government worker and every local community in Scotland.
“GMB Scotland is asking the Scottish Parliament to use the powers it has to raise additional revenues to mitigate the impact of the cuts in the pipeline. GMB Scotland has identified 8,785 job losses on the way at Scottish Councils.
“The additional 1p on income tax with the rebate for the lower paid goes some way to reverse the erosion of the tax base in Scotland where the eight year freeze in council tax has led to a loss of £483m per year which councils would have had if council tax had kept pace with inflation.
“This erosion of the tax base only applies in Scotland and can only be remedied in Scotland. Above all it ends the policy of paying for local government in Scotland by “robbing Peter to pay Paul “. It is not right that wealthy Scottish households pay less council tax in real terms than eight years ago leading to cuts to jobs and services in Scotland’s least affluent areas.”
The lobby starts at 1pm
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