Cole-Hamilton commits to fairer taxes as party launches UK manifesto
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton today said people struggling with the cost of living deserve fairer taxes as the UK party launches its manifesto for the General Election.
The UK manifesto will fund its bold offer on public services through fair taxes, including:
- No increases to VAT or National Insurance
- Reversing Conservative tax cuts on banks, raising £4bn
- Close tax loopholes exploited by the top 0.1% wealthiest individuals, saving £5bn
- Increasing the tax paid by social media and other tech giants to fund improvements to mental health services
The party will launch its fully-costed UK manifesto at 11.30am today. The Scottish Liberal Democrats will also publish their manifesto before voters go to the polls.
Alex Cole-Hamilton said:
"People have been taken for granted. You're working harder but it feels like you're falling further behind.
"The Conservatives have badly mismanaged the economy and made the cost of living crisis worse for everyone.
"The SNP Government has shown that it cannot be trusted to spend your money wisely and its costly blunders have resulted in less funding for Scotland's overwhelmed public services. Their erratic tax policy shows that they are out of ideas on how to spark growth.
"The Liberal Democrat manifesto being published today will show how we will properly fund public services through fair taxes, such as reversing the Conservatives' tax cuts for big banks and increasing the tax paid by the social media giants.
"When the cost of everything has soared and it's a struggle to pay the bills, the last thing people need at this moment are increases to VAT or National Insurance.
"Back the Liberal Democrats for a fair deal for you, for your family, and for Scotland."