THE Scottish Greens will today push for the introduction of an extra income tax band as part of any potential deal with the SNP to pass Holyrood’s budget.
The Greens say their plan would cut tax cut for those on less than the average wage of £26,500, but hike it for those earning more, with top earners taxed at 60p in the pound.
The party, which struck a deal with the minority SNP Government to pass the 2017/18 budget, said it would raise an extra £330m for public services.
The move follows a BBC report this week that SNP ministers are now actively considering the introduction of a new band or bands from 2018/19 to make income tax more progressive.
Nicola Sturgeon and her Finance Secretary Derek Mackay have asked the opposition parties at Holyrood to submit their tax plans as part of a cross-party debate on tax.
The plans will be costed by the civil service to see how much each would yield and how bills would go up or down, with the results informing the draft budget in December.
Mr Mackay said on Monday that so far only the Greens and LibDems had sent proposals while there had been “nothing” from Labour and the Tories.
Income tax in Scotland is currently levied at 20p in the pound above the £11,500 personal allowance, then at 40p above £43,000 and at 45p above £150,000.
The Green plan envisages an 18p rate above £11,500, then 22p above £19,000, 43p above £43,000 and 60p above £150,000.
Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: "Public services are suffering and wages are stagnating, so we need to use our income tax powers to bring more money into the system while also helping people on low incomes keep more of what they earn.
"It's vital we don't just tweak the system we've got but look at setting rates and bands that are more proportional to people's incomes.
"We got the SNP to roll back on their tax cut for higher earners in the last budget. The forthcoming conversation about income tax is a chance to go much further."
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