Commenting on the Chancellor’s Budget speech, Grahame Smith, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary said:
“This was a decent Budget but one that could and should have been much bolder on child poverty, the environment and reducing the inequalities in the taxation system.
“Despite his room for manoeuvre being limited by the deteriorating global economy, the Chancellor was able to announce some positive initiatives to address child and pensioner poverty.
“However, the increased pressure on public services to deliver efficiencies is bound to have an adverse impact on service delivery and the commitment to maintain ‘discipline’ in public sector pay awards is completely irrelevant in the fight against inflation which, as all credible commentators recognise, is being driven by higher energy and food prices.
“Although the rise in alcohol duty was widely anticipated, the STUC is disappointed that whisky has been hit much harder than drinks such as alcopops and cider.
“The Budget has not addressed that unacceptable truth that low paid workers continue to pay a disproportionately high percentage of their very modest incomes in taxation. Indeed, the rises announced today in various elements of indirect taxation will hit the low paid especially hard.
“In work poverty is remains a major problem in Scotland where two-fifths of all children living in poverty have someone in their family doing paid work and the poverty risks for working-age adults in both working and workless households are higher than a decade ago.
“The STUC believes that the Chancellor must urgently establish a review of the taxation system with the ultimate aim of ensuring that taxation responsibilities are spread fairly across all income groups and businesses within a truly progressive framework”.
ENDS
For further information contact
Stephen Boyd 0141 337 8100