Looking around the blogosphere Tavish's call for tax cut such has really got their hackles up. Whether it's calling him a Tumshy and an eejit, asking him to stop havering or just to urge care.
Even Alex Neil seems unwilling to admit that the government as like the people should find ways to tighten their belt in difficult financial times. While their Westminster business and energy spokesman Mike Wier thinks it's irresponsible and and stupid. So the Nats who attacked Brown and Darling over the removal of the 10p tax rate are not even prepared to look at relieving the burden on Scotland's tax payers even though they have the power to do so.
The Nats are havering on about where the money will come from to pay for this, ignoring the fact that they have been irresponsibly and stupidly adding to the number of quangos in Scotland over the last year, as well as extra allocation coming Scotland's way under the Barnett formula. But they probably have plans for that money which more than likely means setting up needless mirror functions to Westminster in their bid for independence or increased centralisation and duplicity of powers at Holyrood away from local authorities.
The Nats have always accused other parties of failing to have an alternative. I think this challenge has really got them reeling as they can't think of an alternative themselves, nor a reason not to look into it.
When I saw that Tavish Scott had called for the tax cut my response was total amusement. It's one of those points where you just can't believe someone has said what they've said. It was hypocritical, it was base, and it was naive - all of that's before my philosophical objection to a tax cut that would deliver the greatest proportional help to people already earning £40,835 per year.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is, it or something like it might actually be a goer if we could just put it on the national credit card.
I will also admit that I can see a coherent and interesting case for the UK-wide tax proposals. The Scottish idea however just couldn't work.