Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scottish Tories’ plan to cut income tax for highest earners ‘would likely see budgets sliced’

Douglas Ross has been accused of devising a "Ross Rebate".

A manifesto plan by the Scottish Tories to cut income tax for Scotland’s highest earners would likely force ministers to slice budgets for other services, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross was accused of engineering a “Ross Rebate” for himself and other better-off Scots and taking the country back to “Dickensian policies” as the party unveiled its election manifesto on Monday.

Plans outlined by the Tories would see the higher rate threshold for income tax rise from £43,663 to £50,270 when Scotland “can afford to do so”, while the current starter rate for low earners would remain the same.

Under the move, the Conservative leader and all MSPs – who earn £64,470 a year -would be given a tax cut of at least £1,321.

Parity

Mr Ross said this is because he wants “parity” for the 1.1 million income tax payers in Scotland who currently pay more than people in the same jobs across the rest of the UK, and vowed he would personally forego any cut to his own tax bill.

A costings supplement issued by the Conservatives alongside their manifesto failed to put a price on the policy but the IFS has warned the party’s ambition to cut income tax “looks unlikely to be realised without cuts to at least some services”.

Its researchers found the Tories’ manifesto “reflects the seeming consensus in Scottish politics on a range of issues” including increases to carers allowance, doubling the Scottish child payment and universal free school meals for primary school-aged children.

However, they noted the extra £2 billion pledged by the Conservatives for the NHS by 2025-26 would be insufficient to deliver on the party’s ‘double lock’ promise, and predicted that without a significant increase in UK Government funding, the ambition to cut income tax “may have to remain only an ambition”.

The IFS stated: “It would cost around £400 million a year, and the Conservatives say they will only do this ‘when we can afford to do so’ and ‘in the event that tax revenue outstrips public spending demands’.

“They would seek to do it ‘by the end of the parliament’, but it is hard to see how this could be achieved given existing commitments – on the NHS, schools, local government and other taxes – without cuts to at least some areas of public spending.”

Speaking to reporters after Monday’s manifesto launch, Mr Ross was asked why there are tax cuts for the better off in his plans but none for the lowest earners.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross during the Scottish Conservative party manifesto launch.

He said: “This is focusing on 1.1 million Scots who are taxed more for doing the exact same job in other parts of the United Kingdom. It’s our teachers and police officers.

“We said we would keep the starter rate, to protect those on low incomes.

“But, over the course of the parliament, if we can get our economy back up and running again, we would seek to return parity in the system because the SNP have made Scotland the highest-taxed part of the United Kingdom.”

The wrong priority

Mr Ross said he would look to fulfil the plan when tax revenue is higher than public spending but Scottish Lib Dem campaign chair Alistair Carmichael said it is the “wrong priority for Scottish Conservative MSPs to give a tax cut to each other”.

“Douglas Ross is promoting a Ross Rebate for himself at a time when we know the health service is struggling to cope with the crisis,” Mr Carmichael said.

Scottish Tories income tax
Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland.

“The Conservatives have offered NHS workers a paltry 1% pay rise but Douglas Ross will get an increase of double that just by his own tax proposal.

“This doesn’t even include the additional salary he will get for being both an MSP, an MP and a referee.

“Tax cuts for high earners should not be the priority as we put recovery first.”

SNP depute leader Keith Brown, whose own party has proposed a five-year income tax freeze, accused the Conservatives of being “completely out of touch, planning tax cuts for the rich and austerity for everyone else”.

He said: “It is shameful that rather than taking on the millionaires that fund their party, the Tories are instead ruthlessly focused on attacking those on lower incomes – giving their millionaire chums a tax cut, which Douglas Ross himself would benefit from, while those on low wages get nothing.

Scottish Tories income tax
SNP depute leader Keith Brown.

“The Tories seem determined to take Scotland back in time with their Dickensian policies, offering more money to the wealthiest in society while cutting the NHS budget at the same time.”

A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “Our fully costed manifesto is a positive policy programme that is focused on rebuilding Scotland.

“The IFS have said we are the party that has announced the most generous funding package for our NHS.

“We will also recruit 3,000 teachers for our classrooms and support all parents with young children with an expansion of childcare.”