SNP promises to lower business taxes
The Scottish National Party has promised to lower taxes on Scottish business if it wins power in the general election.
Launching its economic blueprint in Dundee, SNP leader Alex Salmond said the party would lower corporation tax to 20 per cent and cut business rates below English levels.
Mr Salmond said Scotland needed to grow both its population and its economy, and set the long-term aim of placing Scotland among the 15 most competitive countries in the world.
Other specific measures announced include investing North Sea oil revenue in a fund to benefit future generations, focusing on renewable energy and introducing a pro-active immigration policy to both welcome new people and encourage Scots to move back to Scotland.
Mr Salmond, said: “If Scotland matches the success of similar European nations, instead of slipping behind as a neglected corner of the UK, it will mean 200,000 more jobs, £8 billion more to spend on public services and a boost to the economy worth £4000 per person. This is the independence bonus and is what we can start to achieve with SNP victories in May.”
He added: “On the Government’s own numbers Scotland will lose half a million people over the next forty years. Losing an average of 14,000 people annually is equivalent to losing a town the size of Carnoustie, Alloa or Galashiels every year.
“These are the people who tell the most powerful story about Scotland and our economy. Each one represents a lost opportunity for Scotland and they are the reason we must do better.”
But, the Scottish Labour Party accused the SNP of relying on “reheated Reaganomics” – a reference to the economic policies of former US President Ronald Reagan.
Scottish Secretary Alistair Darling, said: “The Nationalists’ sums don’t add up – Alex Salmond is putting his faith in unsustainable cuts in business taxes in the hope that wealth will ‘trickle down’ from the top to the bottom. This resurrection of the long discredited Laffer Curve shows that the SNP are relying on reheated Reaganomics to dig themselves out of the independence black hole.”
He added: “The Nationalists have failed to answer fundamental questions they would face the day after independence: will there be a Scottish pound? Will there be a Scottish interest rate and if so what would that Scottish interest rate? What is their fiscal policy? What is their inflation target? What is clear is that in place of stability there would be instability, in place of employment, unemployment, in place of investment, SNP cuts.”
