Tough choices have to be made in Scotland’s Budget – Social Justice Secretary

The Scottish Government has to make “tough choices” every year in Scotland’s budget, the Social Justice Secretary has said after being asked about taxation.

Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Shirley-Anne Somerville responded to questions on the budget which will be announced on Tuesday.

She was asked about the plan to fill a £5 billion shortfall by the end of the decade as highlighted by Scotland’s auditor general in October.

Ms Somerville said: “That’s why we do have to take tough choices every single year. That’s why, as a minority government, we reach out to other political parties to work together as best we can to ensure that we are making the right decisions for people.

“But we do recognise we have a challenge in front of us, but that’s exactly why we’ll focus on the priorities such as improving the NHS still further. Yes the NHS has challenges, it’s turned a corner, but we know we need to invest further and we know that we need to do more to tackle child poverty, and that’s exactly what you’ll see on Tuesday.”

One of the “tough decisions” discussed in the programme was the taxation of middle and high-income earners who generally pay more in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.

She said: “Well, that’s one of the tough decisions that we have taken in previous budgets is that we have asked people that have the broadest shoulders to pay a little bit more.

“But with that, there is free prescriptions, the free tuition fees that we all benefit from in Scotland, and that’s an important ask that we put forward to the people of Scotland to say now we still have the majority of taxpayers in Scotland paying less, and that’s according to the Scottish Fiscal Commission that’s entirely independent of the Scottish Government, that they will pay less in income tax.”

Finance Secretary Shona Robison is set to announce the Scottish Government’s Budget on Tuesday

She will reveal how the SNP administration intends to spend around £60 billion in 2026-27, and whether there will be any tax changes.

Also speaking on the show Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy said while he agreed with a progressive tax system in Scotland, that the current taxation rates are “unfair”.

He said: “I think we’re all in favour of a progressive tax system in Scotland. The problem now is that year after year after year after year because of the stealth tax, because they’ve not basically increased thresholds. We’re now seeing lower and middle income earners being dragged into upper rate tax and that’s simply unfair.”