# General > Politics >  Austerity cuts today : Will Scots pay more income tax ?

## rob murray

the chancellor will soon  announce details of his Autumn Statement and Spending Review :  Mr Swinney ( SNP Finance gadgy )  said the likelihood was that the chancellor would make a "significant real-terms cut to Scotland's budget" and added: "What is worse is these cuts will hit the poorest the hardest." Thats possibly the case, so what options has Swinney at his disposal to mitigate cuts......income tax ? Going in to next years elections he will have to set out what the SNP will do.

Swinney :  "We will continue to do everything within our power to protect the most vulnerable from the UK government's austerity measures, but we want to use our powers and resources to lift people out of poverty, not just continually mitigate as best we can."With Scotland to get some limited power over income tax from April next year, with the ability to set rates and bands due in 2017, Mr Swinney said in the future Holyrood ministers would be able to *"take a distinctive approach to the challenges we face".

*The election next year will focus on what approaches parties will progress, what services will be "protected" and that all leads to economic performance and like it or not.... taxation increases will have to be considered as you cant square the circle.

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## rob murray

> the chancellor will soon  announce details of his Autumn Statement and Spending Review :  Mr Swinney ( SNP Finance gadgy )  said the likelihood was that the chancellor would make a "significant real-terms cut to Scotland's budget" and added: "What is worse is these cuts will hit the poorest the hardest." Thats possibly the case, so what options has Swinney at his disposal to mitigate cuts......income tax ? Going in to next years elections he will have to set out what the SNP will do.
> 
> Swinney :  "We will continue to do everything within our power to protect the most vulnerable from the UK government's austerity measures, but we want to use our powers and resources to lift people out of poverty, not just continually mitigate as best we can."With Scotland to get some limited power over income tax from April next year, with the ability to set rates and bands due in 2017, Mr Swinney said in the future Holyrood ministers would be able to *"take a distinctive approach to the challenges we face".
> 
> *The election next year will focus on what approaches parties will progress, what services will be "protected" and that all leads to economic performance and like it or not.... taxation increases will have to be considered as you cant square the circle.


Never saw this one comming, well thats the Nats off the hook : 

George Osborne is to scrap planned cuts to tax credits altogether - rather than ease their impact - he has told MPs.The chancellor had been expected to raid other budgets to cover the £4.4bn cost but he said that was not now needed because of higher tax receipts.  The tax credit announcement means millions of low paid workers will not now have their benefits cut in April, as Mr Osborne had originally planned before he was forced to think again by the House of Lords.
Mr Osborne said he had "listened" to calls for the cuts to be phased in but because of improvements to the public finances he had decided the "simplest thing" was "to avoid them altogether"....so we are Better Together !!

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## BetterTogether

Seems they got let off the hook this time to some extent.

Meanwhile A F Neil has asked some tough questions recently.

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## rob murray

> Seems they got let off the hook this time to some extent.
> 
> Meanwhile A F Neil has asked some tough questions recently.


Begs the question if Carmicheal is in court for telling porkies about the sturgeon supposed leak in a show trial rigged to get him out and a by election declared, then the entire SNP should be in the dock for telling / selling massive porkies to the electorate, of course what ANdrew Neil is stating is 100% true but lets face it SNP voters, the vast majority, dont care about economic reality they voted SNP for another indy ref.

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## BetterTogether

Seems that people haven't realised that you can't keep taking and taking from the system without eventually having to put back in. When you consider the levels of personal debt in this country I'm afraid I find it hard to buy into this everyone's and economist line we are sold. 

The he reality is most people listen to sound bites and get sold on what appeals to their particular way of thinking, then you'll have those that regurgitate other figures trusting that they've done the work for them. Very few will sit down and actually do the figures themselves. 

If so many people are good at figures why do we have so many accountants and finance people hanging about, from first hand experience I can say most people sit in front of you with some financial truths and quite a few financial fantasies, it doesn't make them bad or " not to bright" it just means others who should be trusted have sold them a pup for their own gain. Politicians aren't any different they try and sell their dream by whatever means they can, some are decent upstanding people, others are chancers riding high in their vain glorious pursuit of power. Why because they believe they have all the answers and are there to fulfil their destiny. 

If you met the vast majority and was able to penetrate the shiney veneer of public falseness you'd probably run screaming for the hills at the person below. That goes for all parties non of them are really any different it's all about power.

I personally prefer someone who is open and relatively honest and says if you want it, it's going to cost. 

As opposed to you can have it all and then some and don't worry about the bill.

That in a nutshell sums up the political camps at the moment.

As for the other issue independence it won't cure anything the country will still face the same problems, there will still be rich and poor, people will still get sick, some will die, and the world will spin. And those in charge will just have more power to do as they please.

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## rob murray

From BBC : Mr Swinney told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The UK government has delivered a capital settlement which by the end of this decade will still be lower in that year 2019/20 than it was when the Conservatives came to office in 2010."So for 10 years we have had a suppressed capital budget in Scotland and the increases that were announced yesterday, welcome though they are, will not even get us back to the level of capital spending there was before the Conservatives came to office."

Mr Swinney acknowledged that new powers coming to Scotland next year would enable him to put up taxes if he wished. He said he would set out to parliament "in due course" how he would use those tax powers.Mr Swinney is due to update the Scottish Parliament on the state of Scotland's finances in the wake of the Chancellor's spending review.

SO a heavy hint that due to westminster financial skillduggery Swinney may have to put up taxes after all ( if he wished ) if he doenst he faces heavy choices over service provision, he has certainly not ruled tax increases out anyway. Id say he's boxed in a bit.

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## BetterTogether

Now this is where I get confused on one hand we have lots of hand wringing about the National Debt and the legacy we will leave to our children and grandchildren. 
Then stop draw a quick breath and we are being financially strangled because UK govt is decreasing spending across the board.

Take time to look and what the Scottish Govt proposes is more spending over a longer period ( more debt ) no real increase in services and accepted decreases in some sectors over a longer period ( more austerity over longer )

Its very easy to spend spend spend and make everyone ( short term ) feel happy, at some stage that borrowed money has to be paid back or taxes have to rise.

There is no reason for those most able to pay their way in society not to do so, so why do we have free prescriptions for everyone as a case in point, why free university for everyone why shouldn't those able to pay do so. Why freeze council taxes year on year then scream you're having to cut services.

There aren't any easy solutions to the many varied and complex problems that face today's ever changing and evolving society, areas which relied on heavy industry caught in the global trade where foreign workers can produce the same materials cheaper doesn't help.

Anyone can sit and complain how hard life is and how tough things are but it takes leadership to actually seize the reigns and take the country forward.

Currently all I see is lots of oppurtunities to ease the burden on those struggling or unable to live as they wish, no one who earns a decent wage objects to paying their fair share to ensure the whole of society is benefited. But at the same time how many of you could honestly put your hand up and say you'd turn down a freebie.

When the Scottish Government decides it wants to act it can immediately make difference if it chooses to but the reality is it will lose votes. That is the problem with government it can't be all things to all people and those that buy their way through with vote buying schemes at some stage run out of money and out of luck.

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## rob murray

Swinney is on record that he and the SNP face difficult choices, ie unfreezing council tax, stopping freebies / means testing etc the last thing he will want to do is to raise taxes, leaving freebies in place, for a multitude of reasons

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