Scottish Budget: Shona Robison - "Government will not increase income tax"
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00:00The new UK Government has increased employers' national insurance contributions, a policy
00:05that the OBR has told this Parliament will fall mainly on employees' wages. It is estimated
00:13that that will take more than £2 billion out of the Scottish economy next year. In
00:18the light of that, I can confirm today that this Government will not introduce any new
00:24bans or increase the rates of Scottish income tax for the remainder of this Parliament.
00:35I want to go further, because Labour has hit the pay packets of working people in Scotland
00:40and has decided to provide tax support for low- and medium-income earners. Although the
00:45UK Government has frozen all income tax thresholds, in Scotland the basic and intermediate rate
00:51thresholds will increase this year by 3.5 per cent, which is effectively twice the rate
00:57of inflation. That means that more of people's money will be taxed at the starter and basic
01:07tax rates. That also means that the majority of taxpayers in Scotland will continue to
01:14pay less income tax than in the rest of the UK.