The SNP won’t ask the richest to pay their fair share – Dugdale

The SNP won’t ask the richest to pay their fair share of tax but they will ask our children to pay the price of cuts, Kezia Dugdale said today.

Speaking on a visit to a nursery in East Lothian this morning, the Scottish Labour Leader said Nicola Sturgeon’s excuses for not introducing a 50p top rate of tax for those earning more than £150,000 a year “look thinner than ever”.

Last week Nicola Sturgeon said setting a 50p top rate of tax would be “daft” and “reckless”. Speaking on BBC Good Morning Scotland today the SNP Leader confirmed that she would not introduce a 50p tax on the richest few.

The First Minister confirmed her opposition to increasing taxes on the wealthiest few to invest more in education in an interview where she also effectively conceded that she had cut teacher numbers by 4,000.

Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale said:

“With each passing day the SNP’s excuses for not reversing George Osborne’s tax cut for the richest few look thinner than ever. The SNP won’t ask the richest 1% to pay more tax but they will ask our children to pay the price of cuts.

We have been very clear – Labour will ask those earning more than £150,000 a year to pay a 50p top rate of tax so we can invest in our schools. If we want Scotland to have a world class education system then somebody has to pay for it. We need to invest in our schools, not carry on with the cuts.

Last year the SNP attacked austerity, now they just attack Labour’s plan to tax the richest to end austerity. Nicola Sturgeon has spent her whole career arguing for more powers to stop the cuts and ask the richest to pay their fair share. Yet now that the Scottish Parliament has those powers the SNP are passing on the cuts and won’t ask the richest 1% to pay more.

Faced with a choice between using the powers of the Scottish Parliament to invest in education or carrying on with the cuts, Labour will use the powers.”

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