MARTIN Compston has ripped into the Tories’ mini-Budget which hands huge tax cuts to the super-rich and praised the Scottish Government’s higher rates for the wealthy.
The Line of Duty star, who pays tax in Scotland despite living in the US, said the announcement the Government was scrapping the higher rate of tax - meaning the few people in Britain earning more than £150,000 would pay just 40% in income tax - were an “absolute disgrace”.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the Greenock-born star is worth around $5 million (£4.5m).
Absolute disgrace during a cost of living crisis. Those who earn more should be paying more in periods like this. I don’t want to pay more tax same as everybody else but when people are literally struggling to keep their lights on more than happy to be paying 46% here in Scotland https://t.co/JjyrCERVQC
— martin compston (@martin_compston) September 23, 2022
He said he did not “want to pay more tax” but was happy to be charged the higher rate of the top bracket in Scotland, which remains at 46% for those on the highest incomes.
Responding to a tweet outlining Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax cuts, Compston tweeted: “Absolute disgrace during a cost of living crisis.
“Those who earn more should be paying more in periods like this. I don’t want to pay more tax same as everybody else but when people are literally struggling to keep their lights on more than happy to be paying 46% here in Scotland.”
The budget has been met with fury from the opposition, with the Chancellor branded a “reverse Robin Hood” for introducing tax cuts for the wealthy, scrapping the cap on bankers’ bonuses while punishing Universal Credit claimants and further restricting trade unions’ rights to strike.
Alison Thewliss, the SNP’s Treasury spokesperson said the measures were a recipe for “economic chaos” and said there was nothing in Friday’s announcement to “reassure” ordinary families feeling the pinch of soaring inflation rates and rising energy bills.
The Tories have also been criticised across the political spectrum for putting the cost of handouts to the wealthy on the country’s “credit card” by increased state borrowing.
