TAXATION – WHY WAS THE BIG ISSUE MISSING FROM GRAY’S SPEECH?

For Immediate Release – Saturday 30th October 2010




Attn: NEWS DESKS


POLITICAL CORRESPONDENTS



WHAT ‘BASKET OF TAXES’ WILL LABOUR USE TO PAY FOR ALL THESE PROMISES ASK SNP?


GRAY DAY TURNS GINGER WITH HARRIET’S BAD HAIR DAY



Commenting on Iain Gray’s speech to the Scottish Labour conference in Oban SNP Election Campaign Director Angus Robertson MP said it failed spectacularly failed to mention how he would pay for the policy announcements he made and didn’t even address the ‘basket of taxes’ Labour threatens Scots families with.



Commenting Mr Robertson said:



“This was a speech that was heavy on pledges and totally empty on how they would pay for them. Iain Gray has promised Scotland a ‘basket of taxes’ so he needs to come clean and tell people what these taxes are.


“The people of Scotland will not be fooled by Labour’s wish-list of un-costed promises. We already know Labour want to hike up council tax and hit family and pensioner incomes just as people come under pressure from increases in VAT and National Insurance from the Tory/LibDem government.


“Yet what exactly are the other taxes in Labour’s basket that Iain Gray wants to hit people with? Would Iain Gray’s proposed national care service take money away from local authorities, so that Labour push up council tax even further?



“By totally failing to mention taxation in this speech Iain Gray only increases the questions about what hidden taxes Labour has planned for the people of Scotland.


“The SNP has a record of freezing council tax and protecting household incomes whilst under Labour council tax increased 60%. No one can take Iain Gray’s promises seriously if he can’t even address the issue of taxation in a keynote address.”


Commenting on Harriet Harman’s apology for calling Danny Alexander a ‘ginger rodent’, Mr Robertson said:



“Iain Gray must be furious at Ms Harman’s behaviour. It will obviously ruin coverage of his speech. A case of a Gray day turning ginger.”


ENDS