SCOTLAND’S top trade unionist has urged SNP members to back “progressive taxation on land, building and wealth taxes” at the party’s conference this month.
It comes after The National reported that the SNP’s largest affiliate group – the SNP Trade Union Group (SNPTUG) – was looking to push the Scottish Government to use its devolved tax powers “to the max” to mitigate the impact of UK austerity.
In a proposed motion which could be debated at conference, the SNPTUG is asking delegates to back tax increases on Scotland’s richest through “realistic” exploration of a wealth tax and extended local authority powers.
SNP delegates are due to convene in Edinburgh for three days from August 30, and resolutions which they pass by majority vote will become official party policy. A draft agenda has been published within the party, with a finalised one expected in the coming days.
The SNPTUG motion leans on research commissioned by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) – which represents more than 500,000 trade unionists – and written by Landman Economics founder Howard Reed.
It said that, in the short run, measures such as income tax reform, an increase to the Scottish landfill tax, and increases to Land and Buildings Transactions Tax (LBTT), could see an extra £1.1 billion a year for public spending.
In the long run and through a range of “more complex reforms” – such as a form of wealth tax, a replacement for council tax, and a frequent flyer levy – a further £2.6bn could be raised annually, the report said.
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer urged SNP delegates to back the trade unionists’ tax motion.
She told The National: “It’s encouraging that the SNP Trade Union Group is pushing their party leadership to adopt the progressive taxation plans of the STUC.
“The Scottish Government, under the former first minister, had made progress in adopting our plans with the introduction of the higher rate of tax. That progress must continue.
“We can raise billions for workers who desperately need investment in their services through progressive taxation on land, building and wealth taxes.
“These powers, however limited, to make Scotland a more progressive place exist within our Parliament already. There is simply no excuse for half-measures or dilly-dallying. We can redistribute wealth in Scotland to those who need it most while investing in our public services.
“There is no limit to the ambitions of the STUC, nor the SNP Trade Union Group, in ensuring we build a fairer, more equal nation. We need Scottish Government ministers to realise that ambition too.”
Simon Barrow, the SNPTUG’s national secretary, told The National: “We greatly appreciate the work of the STUC, its welcoming of this motion, and the growing strength of the trade union movement across Scotland.
“Roz Foyer and her colleagues are determined not only to press for the interests of workers struggling for decent pay and conditions, but also to generate a transformational vision of an economically and socially just nation for all of us.
“We share that vision, and our motion on further steps towards a bold, effective and progressive use of Holyrood’s tax powers is about positioning the SNP to take a fresh lead in realising that vision.”
Barrow said that further revenue generation through creative use of tax powers was possible “despite the significant financial limits the Scottish Government faces”.
“This can make a crucial difference for public services, investment in a Just Transition, and the creation of linked industrial and anti-poverty strategies,” he went on.
“In making best use of the powers we now have, the case for the full powers of independence can be made even clearer.”
