Scotland's new income tax!

[mummyhaschangedhername]

Was this expected? What the general feeling about this?

The SNP policies are all about creating difference and grievance. Vanity projects like Gaelic signs benefiting the 0% of the population who speak only Gaelic.

Well, the SNP do want Scotland to be run 'differently' from Tory run Westminster. I don't see the problem with that. Unless you're doing a Lord George Foulkes of course, cdtaylor: "What they are doing is trying to build up a situation in Scotland where the services are manifestly better than south of the border in a number of areas.” Interviewer Colin Mackay:”Is that a bad thing?” Lord George Foulkes: “No, but they are doing it deliberately."

Not sure what you mean about SNP policies that are all about 'creating grievance' though.

I'm happy with the income tax proposals, I think they are doing better than even the tories thought they would with the 'poison' income tax powers they were allowed.

Nyx that may be what they are trying to do but they are failing miserably.

Look how the income tax changes work out

I'm confused by that calculator ... so those earning 40k are worse off but those earning 50k are better off? How does that work out?

mummy the BBC explain the budge quite well here www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42358522

What cdtaylor is referring to is

"Because the higher-rate threshold is rising by the rate of inflation, people earning £50,000 in Scotland will actually be £85 better off in 2018-19 than they were the previous year - the rising threshold means less of their income is being taxed at the higher rate.
However, because Chancellor Philip Hammond rose those thresholds even further in the rest of the UK, someone earning the same amount outwith Scotland would be £655 better off."

Theres also a good chart with a breakdown at the bottom of the page I linked

Well, the SNP do want Scotland to be run 'differently' from Tory run Westminster. I don't see the problem with
Yes differently like a nanny state- raise booze prices to discourage drinking, no drink at all if driving, named person as we can’t be trusted with our own DCs, lots of immigration cas we aren’t up to the jobs available - thanks SNP - am so proud to be a useless drink sozzled native.

Melony - really? OK. Whatever.

I like the 'no drink if driving' and the minimum alcohol pricing policies.

I don't know much about named persons except it's trying to protect children.

Immigration is necessary in Scotland because of our population and demographics, if we want to continue to staff public services and so on.

But carry on with SNPBad if you can find another party in Scotland that will work for Scotland's people not themselves like Labour or the Tories. That's totally your choice.

Also - didn't have anything to do with the actual OP question

It boils my piss that any criticism of the SNP - no matter how legitimate- is called "SNPBad" by their sycophants.
NO party should be immune from being held to account.

As for working for the people - on the surface maybe, but many of their policies seem engineered simply to win votes with the endgame being a vote for independence.
Meanwhile the health and education systems are left struggling

(And I'm no Tory before you try and trot that out).

The differences I meant were, for example, not driving people to suicide by cutting their benefits, sanctions, ideological austerity etc etc, Melony. But you complain because you can't drink & drive, by all means.

Health and education are struggling in the rest of the UK too. The SNP are trying their best to change things in both of those areas.

As for policies being designed to win votes, omg, there's a shocker. But Fairfax, if the endgame is a vote for independence, surely the scottish government have to prove that Scotland is capable of being independent, they have to persuade people to vote for independence. That is what they are trying to do. What is wrong with that? Tell me what you don't like about their policies, what you think is wrong. Do you disagree with the new income tax policy for example?

Yeah, Melony, what bastards for trying to discourage ill health by reducing drinking and making the roads safer by changing the drink drive law

The reason SNP supporters (we are all sycophants, are we? Nice) 'trot out' "SNPbad" all the time is because we're sick of every single thing the SNP do being portrayed as, well, bad. Honestly, reporting in papers and on TV is outrageously biased. It's glass half empty in every single case. The SNP could find a cure for cancer and it would be reported as "SNP inflict blow on cancer specialists"

The minimum pricing for alcohol is a ridiculous thing to get worked up about, unless you’re partial to some Lambrini or White Lightning it won’t make a blind bit of difference.
The Named Person idea was good in theory, but needed some tweaking. It was designed to make sure agencies all had a focal point for at risk children to ensure children like Liam Fee and Brandon Muir didn’t slip through the cracks the way they did. In reality if it does come in it won’t affect the majority of people but could, in fact, be of great help to vulnerable children.

It's glass half empty in every single case. The SNP could find a cure for cancer and it would be reported as "SNP inflict blow on cancer specialists"

Utter bollox. You see it that way because you want to see it that way.

What I object to is the SNP chasing the middle earners while barely giving relief to the poorer end of the scale (but trumpeting it as major social change) while failing to do anything about tax-avoiding celebrities and companies - both of which would raise far more than 1% here and there.

Baby boxes being handed to poor and millionaires alike.

Minimum pricing is supposed to curb the drink culture but haven't no lived with a true alcoholic I see it as another restriction on moderate drinkers which will not affect problem drinkers. Why not tackle the rampant drugs problem?

Yes the NHS is a mess everywhere but maybe it would be less of a mess up here if the SNP spent money on it rather than vanity projects - like independence.

Notreally Liam Fee would have slipped through the cracks even with named person - there were many concerns raised (including by professionals) before his death and his mother and the other one were able to deflect it all.**

"I hate this hard working bollocks, we ALL work hard"

I hate all this we ALL work hard bollocks. Some people work hard, some people coast, some people enjoy their work some people work a little, some people don't work at all. Yes we're all paid differently for what we do, and yes it's not necessarily correlated to how hard we work..... But spare me the we ALL work hard nonsense.

"What I object to is the SNP chasing the middle earners while barely giving relief to the poorer end of the scale (but trumpeting it as major social change) while failing to do anything about tax-avoiding celebrities and companies - both of which would raise far more than 1% here and there."

They're not 'chasing the middle earners'. They only have control over income tax and have tried to make it more progressive and fair. 70% of Scots will benefit from the proposed changes - actually getting a tax cut. Everyone earning over £45K a year has to pay the equivalent of a half pint of lager in extra tax a week. And at the same time receive plenty of 'freebies' in prescriptions, elderly personal care, etc etc.

They are doing what they can with what they have.

@FairfaxAikman no so, Liam Fee’s Named Person would have been his Nursery headteacher, who would have had the powers to do something about it. His Nursery were the only ones continually raising concerns and being ignored. His case is the sole reason the Named Person act was even mooted.

I'm just glad I'm not in Scotland. We are taxed too much already.

We will be slightly worse off. DH is the only earner, as I'm a student, a sahp and pregnant but we'll cope. However I'm concerned about where the money will be spent. For example I've always worked in the public sector and given that my last job was with the Council, this tax raise wouldn't necessarily see me get a pay raise as that's the Council's responsibility. The maternity "care" I experienced with DS was a joke. The baby boxes are a nice idea, I especially like the box but I don't know anyone who puts their children to sleep in it (and that's from a wide range of backgrounds). I can't help thinking spending the money it's costing into maternity services and staff would have been a better investment.

The named person scheme needs more staff if it's ever going to work. We live rurally and our health visitor covers a huge area. Despite being given stuff at 10 days post birth saying that she was our named person etc etc, Ds was over one before she met him (someone else did his vaccinations/checks). When we finally did meet she knew nothing about the mental health issues I had post natally so not sure how she could have stopped him slipping through any cracks.

Finally I know a lot of professionals (friends and family) who have left the country since the referendum, including Doctors and Teachers. In fact we just spent a weekend visiting a Dr in her new house in England. I know a Social worker who now works in Asda because it's a better pay/stress ratio and far too many of my "mummy" friends are teachers who you couldn't pay to step back into the profession.

If the tax raises work towards fixing the NHS, education and public services, then absolutely I'm in favour but I do not believe the current Government are capable of that. I hope they prove me wrong however.

like another poster i would pay more tax if SNP could show it was going to make a difference to the appalling state of our education system, our roads, and organisations like Police Scotland - all of which would benefit everyone.
Instead it will go on more gimmicks like baby boxes and gaelic and self-agrandissment for SNP politicians.

I understood it was to fund the public sector pay rises. Might be mistaken.

https://www.snp.org/thescottishhbudgetwhattyouneeddtoknow

OK, I do see what you are saying. Of course nobody wants to be taxed more and think that their tax money is going to be wasted. But do you agree that the Scottish NHS and other public services are better currently than in England and Wales and NIreland? The Scottish government don't have control of the vast majority of things that would enable them to do more to enact the kinds of change that you are talking about and wanting. They can't change any other taxes, or things like national minimum wage, alcohol and tobacco duty, maternity pay, national insurance, more than 15% of welfare powers, etc etc etc.

This is why we need to be independent. I do not like the way the Tories are taking us and I don't like the way Labour agree with them.

They are doing what they can with the powers they have. Their policies are people-centric. Not just 'on the surface, to win votes' but they really are trying to help people and do the best they can for Scotland. Do you disagree? What do you think they are doing wrong, if so?

Otterturk, where are you? Most people in Scotland are paying less tax than they would if they were in England.