People in Scotland support Income Tax rise to boost public services – poll
This is interesting as it supports – yes, supports! – Scottish Labour’s recent announcement on tax credits and undermines SNP supporters’ claims about Scottish Labour.
Firstly, this poll supports Scottish Labour’s announcement that it would maintain tax credits for 350,000 working families in Scotland, because Scottish Labour is not planning to fund it with an Income Tax rise. Instead, the plan will be supported by resisting tax cuts supported by the SNP and the Conservative Party.
An Income Tax rise is planned – but this would fund improvements to education, which is a public service if ever there was one.
Scotland will have control over Income Tax from 2017, making it possible to top-up tax credits and social security benefits – and this means that critics who have commented on the subject in Vox Political were mistaken.
Two have suggested that the Income Tax rise was to “plug the gap in tax credits”. That was a mistake.
One of these claimed that Scottish Labour would need to create “a brand new Scottish benefit to compensate people, all separate from the actual tax credits system”. That was also a mistake.
Let’s have a debate based on what is actually being proposed, rather than misinterpretations.
Over half of people in Scotland would support an income tax rise to fund public services but not to pay for increased benefits and tax credits, a poll has found.
A YouGov poll for The Times found 52% in favour of a tax rise for services, but just 30% backing a tax rise for benefits once Scotland gains control of income tax in 2017.
The Scottish Government will also have the power to top up tax credits and benefits, but such a move would be unpopular with most people in Scotland, the poll found.
Source: Poll reveals 53% favour income tax RISE to fund public service (From Evening Times)
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It is early days….I am not sure how Scottish Labour would fund the reinstatement of the proposed Tax Credit cuts .As for income tax..we in Scotland can already alter the rates
…but their in lies the problem of different TAX rates within a United Kingdom..Questions like .I live in Scotland but my pension is paid to me in England..where do I pay my TAX?. Etc…Folks who can afford to have two homes one in England and one in Scotland can easily swap to be domiciled in the country with the best tax regime …..Would not it be better for Scotland to have control of VAT as states in America ?
why would we need to put up tax? SNP has underspent. (again)
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13196280.Scottish_Government_in_record___444m_underspend/
That doesn’t mean there’s enough in the kitty to provide the kind of service Scotland needs.
A closer look at the poll results gives cause for an interesting debate
What, the part that says a majority of Scottish people still favour membership of the Union?
Yes, and the fact that 57% don’t want to pay more tax to fund benefits, also interesting are the figures for different party supporters.
“The Scottish Government will also have the power to top up tax credits and benefits, but such a move would be unpopular with most people in Scotland, the poll found”.
I am asked to contribiute to several YouGov polls but this one missed me. I wonder what the wording of this question in particular was? I imagine that most people would not want current tax credits topped up. However, I expect that they would support topping up of the credits after they have been cut as the Tories propose.