Ease tax burden

As LEADER of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, I am calling on Chancellor George Osborne to heed the advice of my Lib Dem colleagues and raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 faster than originally planned.

Already, the coalition government is helping ordinary working people, with 25 million people across the UK receiving a tax cut. In Scotland alone, 71,000 Scots have been lifted out of income tax altogether and 2,023,000 got a tax cut of £200. However, these are difficult times for all of us and we must give working people on lower incomes more support.

Raising the income tax threshold is a straightforward way of achieving this objective. By lifting over 2.5 million people in the UK out of paying tax altogether and giving millions more a substantial tax cut, we give real support to low and middle earners – a helping hand during tough times.

We have heard many times about the need to make tough choices in these difficult times. The choice for us is clear, lift the burden for the people who are struggling the most now and ensure the wealthy pay their fair share. While the additional £130 tax cut planned for next month is welcome, we must go further and faster. Raising the tax threshold to £10,000 as quickly as possible is a fair way of ensuring those who need the must support get it.

Willie Rennie MSP

Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats