The SNP has broken its promise to scrap council tax in favour of timid changes, Scottish Labour has said.
Opposition parties queued up to condemn Nicola Sturgeon’s proposed reform of the system, which includes increasing the tax burden on those living in larger homes.
Jackie Baillie, Labour’s finance spokeswoman, said: “The SNP promised to abolish council tax back in 2007 and attacked Labour’s proposals to change the way banding worked. Yet that is exactly what the SNP Government has announced today. It has taken the SNP a decade to deliver tinkering round the edges rather than real reform.”
Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said the increases “may be too steep to be truly fair”. She warned of putting highly skilled staff off moving to a Scotland with a reputation for high taxes.
“The result will only be to damage the economy and cut the tax revenues which pay for our school and hospitals,” she added.
Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie said it was “utterly insulting” the SNP had taken so long to make the system fairer while Scotland slid down international league tables for education. Calling the changes “timid”, he added: “If they had acted sooner, they could have stopped the heartache and cuts in Scottish education.”
The Scottish Greens’ Maggie Chapman, said Ms Sturgeon should have scrapped the levy.
“Council tax is both regressive and unfair. It deepens the housing crisis by penalising development and repair. It needs replaced not tinkered with.”
A Taxpayer Scotland spokesman said the latest SNP plans helps prove that “tax and spend is back with a vengeance in Scotland”. He said lower taxes will bring vital investment to the country.