Trade union chief to call on politicians to unite to reform 'broken' council tax system
The STUC says replacing council tax with a proportionate property tax could raise an extra £1 billion for local authorities.
A leading trade unionist says all political parties must come together to replace the “broken” council tax system.
Roz Foyer, leader of the Scottish Trade Union Congress, will make a keynote speech at the congress’s conference in Dundee at lunchtime, where she will accuse politicians of “political cowardice” and “broken promises” on council tax reform.
She will use her speech to announce an STUC summit, which she is urging all political parties to attend.
This comes after the STUC set out plans in 2023 to replace council tax with a proportionate property tax, which they say could raise up to £1 billion extra for local authorities.
Speaking ahead of her speech, Ms Foyer said: “Communities in Scotland have been failed by those unwilling to take the radical decisions needed to change our economy for the better.
“Scotland’s local authorities have, for too long, been hamstrung by a broken system of council tax that has delivered poor public services and an increasing gap in the public finances.
“This must end. We are calling on all parties to step up to the plate and join, alongside our partners, our summit on banishing the broken council tax once and for all, giving workers a fighting chance of decent public services and well-funded local authorities.”
YouGov polling for Tax Justice Scotland found that 56 per cent of Scots would support political parties committing to reforming council tax during the next parliament - only 11 per cent said they would oppose such a move.
Over the weekend SNP Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said politicians need to work together to reform council tax. She told BBC The Sunday Show these reforms are challenging because there is not a consensus in Holyrood on what it should look like.
The SNP promised to scrap and replace council tax when they first came to power in 2007, but so far have not done a major overhaul.
First Minister John Swinney is also due to speak at the STUC conference in Dundee today.
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