DOUBLE-INCOME households will be an average of £289 a year worse off if the SNP succeeds in its plan to introduce a local income tax, the Tories claimed yesterday.
The Conservatives published a raft of figures which, they argued, showed that dual-income households in every part of Scotland would lose out if the council tax was scrapped and replaced with a local income tax.
They claimed that, even in the area with the smallest margin – Moray – households with two earners would be worse off by £62 a year.
But in areas like the Western Isles, with relatively low council tax rates, the loss would be £458 per household.
These statistics, compiled from official figures, represent the latest blow to Alex Salmond's attempts to introduce a new, nationally set local income tax.
The plans were unveiled last month by John Swinney, the finance secretary, to a chorus of opposition from the Tories, Labour, the business community and some unions.
Mr Swinney said he wanted to scrap the council tax and replace it with a flat-rate, 3p-in-the-pound income tax for all tax-payers.
He admitted his plans would not raise as much as the council tax and that they rested on the return of £400 million in council tax benefit – which the Treasury said would not be given to Scotland if council tax was scrapped.
Since then, the constitutional legality of Mr Swinney's plans has been questioned, as have the financial calculations on which they were based.
Now, though, the Tories have published figures which, they claim, show that households with more than one earner will be worse off if the local income tax is introduced.
The Tories produced their figures by taking the average income for houses with more than one earner for each part of the country. These range from £44,554 a year in Moray to £64,698 in Stirling.
They worked out what the local income tax liability would be for a household on that income and compared it to the average council tax for the area.
In each case, there was a gap between the current average council tax bill for each council area and the average local income tax bill for a household with more than one earner.
Derek Brownlee, for the Tories, said: "It's time for the SNP to drop its plans for its national income tax. The costings are questionable, its legality is under challenge and its impact severe.
"The money needed to plug the black hole in its finances would be much better spent slashing the council tax instead – real cuts for every taxpayer."
He added: "The First Minister must face facts – his unfair Scottish national income tax is unravelling by the day. What he should do is reform the existing tax, follow our lead and cut the council tax for everyone."
But Mr Swinney hit back. He said: "The Tory figures are a travesty of reality, and amount to nothing more than an inaccurate apology for retaining the hated council tax – which the Tories imposed on Scotland.
"The reality is that under the Scottish Government's proposals, on average people across all family types will be better off – apart from those in the very top ten per cent income group. Everyone will pay according to their ability. The Tory claims are nonsense."
SNP hails its 'winning performance'The full article contains 571 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
