Greene criticises “great SNP tax con” as Auditor General warns of lack of transparency

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson and deputy convenor of the public audit committee Jamie Greene has today criticised the “great SNP tax con” after Auditor General, Stephen Boyle, warned that there is a lack of transparency over how much benefit there is to the budget from the additional £1.7bn that the Scottish Government levies in income tax on Scottish taxpayers.

Jamie Greene said:

“The Scottish Government don’t want to admit that of the £1.7bn that Scots have paid in extra tax, less than a third of that is available to spend on public services.

“From the top down, it’s clear that Scottish ministers are pulling the wool over the eyes of Scottish taxpayers. They’re asking them to contribute more for better public services, and hard-working families hand over the cash only to find so little of it translates into government spend.  All the while public services get worse into the bargain.

“They broke their manifesto promises.  They shunted taxes up. And now they are hiding the fact that because of sluggish economic growth in Scotland we have a billion pounds less to spend. It is the great SNP tax con.

“The Auditor General has recommended a more transparent approach. It remains to be seen whether the SNP will heed his advice or continue to duck and dive.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats believe that to afford great public services, you have to get the public finances on a sustainable footing. We’ve had years of SNP economic mismanagement. It’s time for a change.”