Murdo Fraser MSP says Scotland’s Finance Secretary should focus on “attracting” workers to the country instead of “continual grievance mongering.”
The Scottish Conservative politician made his comments during a recent Finance Parliamentary Question session at Holyrood, when he raised the issue of recent data which shows the majority of taxpayers in Scotland pay more than their counterparts in the United Kingdom.
Commenting, Mr Fraser said: “The finance sector is very concerned that employers can’t get staff to move to Scotland due to higher tax rates. The response I received to my question from Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, was ridiculous and didn’t address the point I had raised. She talked about how the SNP Government is establishing a ‘fair and balanced progressive tax system,’ but the reality is that the tax system is not attracting workers to Scotland – many businesses have told me this.
“The most recent data from the Scottish Fiscal Commission shows that anyone earning over £27,850 a year is now paying more income tax than elsewhere in the UK. And it was interesting to read one of Ms Robison’s former ministerial colleagues, Ivan McKee MSP, being quoted in a newspaper article arguing the case for the SNP Government making Scotland a more attractive place for workers to come from other parts of the UK.”
Mr Fraser continued: “Sadly we hear from the business community in Scotland in sectors like finance, that the main difficulty they have in encouraging people to come and work here is due to differential tax rates. I therefore asked the Finance Secretary today how we can attract more people to come and work in Scotland when they feel they are being punished with high taxes to pay for SNP waste and financial mismanagement.
“However, the Cabinet Secretary didn’t answer this valid question – instead she came out with her continual grievance mongering attitude, criticising the UK Government, when she would be better focusing on ways to attract workers to the country. This is a major issue but the SNP Government just don’t seem to get it.
“People are sick and tired of hearing about independence when there are a multitude of things for this Government to focus on, including looking at the unfair income tax system in Scotland.”
