Scrap the Council Tax
Countless numbers of ordinary Scots get into huge debts every
year as they struggle to pay enormous Council Tax bills.
The Council Tax is
a blatantly unfair Tory tax, which reinforces Scotland's grotesque divide
between rich and poor.It was concocted by the last Tory government as a fallback
for the hated Poll Tax, which was destroyed by people power in the early 1990s.
It was like mugging an old woman, then giving her back a few coins for her
bus fare home.
A report this year by Save The Children showed that one in five families live
below the poverty line, rising as high as 62 per cent in some parts of Glasgow.
At the other end of the social scale, Fred Goodwin of the Royal Bank of Scotland
was last year paid £2.85million in salary and bonuses.
The differential between the salary of Fred Goodwin and the salary of a full
time worker the national minimum wage? Approximately 250 to one.
And the differential between the highest and lowest Council Tax band? A maximum
of just three to one.
The Scottish Socialist Party wants to replace the Council Tax with a new system
of taxation that truly reflects income differentials within Scotland.
Our alternative is the Scottish Service Tax. It is an unashamedly redistributive
tax, the details of which were developed by economists at Paisley University.
It would be based on annual personal income, thus shifting the burden of local
taxation from low income to high income households. All earnings under £11,000
would be automatically exempt. Earnings over £11,000 would be taxed progressively.
As things stand, a millionaire in a mansion pays just three
times more in Council Tax than a hospital worker in a high rise flat – even
though the wage gap between the two could be as 100 to 1. . That is grotesquely
unfair.
Under the SSP’s alternative – the Scottish Service Tax – eight
out of ten Scots would be better off.
On the other hand, the wealthiest one fifth – for example, wealthy businessmen,
politicians and lawyers – would be forced to pay their fair share.
HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY UNDER THE SSP’S PLAN?
Gross Income Annual Bill
£
11,000 NIL
£
14,000 £180
£
18,000 £360
£
22,000 £540
£
26,000 £720
£
30,000 £900
Earning over £30,000 taxed at
15% on all income between £30 - £50k
18% on all income between £50 - £90k
20% on all income above £90k