3% tax rise vital to cope with public spending cuts, say chiefs

LOCAL authorities should have the flexibility to increase council taxes by up to 3 per cent to help cope with "the most savage reduction in public spending" that has ever been witnessed in Scotland, Cosla has claimed.

Pat Watters, the umbrella body's president, said councils "want to have their cake and eat it" by ending the council tax freeze, while at the same time continuing to receive the 70 million in additional money given to them by government to help fund the shortfall in budgets it creates.

He joined calls by the leader of Glasgow City Council for the Scottish Government's flagship tax policy to be scrapped to allow local authorities to demand more from residents to help retain public services. Labour councillor Gordon Matheson became the first council leader to officially back the move yesterday, as he wrote to finance secretary John Swinney urging him to tear up a policy already described as "unsustainable" in the current financial climate by the Scottish Government commissioned Independent Budget Review panel.

Yesterday, Mr Matheson's call was echoed by the Cosla leader. Mr Watters, said: "We are asking for our cake and eat it. We want the 70m that has been in budgets so far to freeze the council tax, but we want some ability to influence the level of revenue that we can get in through the council tax."