Labour won’t block the budget – so why is it still a big deal to them?published at 12:41 GMT
12:41 GMT
Phil Sim
Scotland political correspondent
Anas Sarwar led on the budget today, but the truth is his
party aren’t enormously bothered about the budget.
That’s why they have already announced they won’t block it
in parliament; they just want to move on to the election campaign.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t matters of substance to
draw out of the budget for the broader political debate.
There’s tax – with the leaders clashing about how much
various workers are paid and taxed in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK.
And there’s business tax, with rates having been trimmed in
a bid to assuage concerns about a looming revaluation which could see many
premises pay more.
The Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast that the revaluation
would have brought in £444m more in non-domestic rates – cash coming directly
from firms.
The reliefs added in the budget bring that total down by
£153m in the coming year – which means there will still be a hike of around
£290m.
But there have been hints that there could be further help
for firms, if rumoured changes down south go through.