THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL Party has pointed to the recent Budget as an example of the “opportunities” that an independent Scotland could enjoy.
Tuesday’s €9.1 billion Budget was a substantial increase on Budgets seen in the pre-Covid era – in 2019 and 2020, the Budget package was €3.8b and €3.6b respectively.
It also included a social protection package worth almost €2 billion.
While the Budget was criticised by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC), who called for the Irish Government to be “more serious” instead of “repeating past mistakes”, it was warmly welcomed by the SNP.
“Increased tax credits, greater help for families, support on energy prices, tax cuts, mortgage relief and more educational and law enforcement staff,” said the SNP in a statement yesterday.
“Unfortunately, this is not remotely what is being discussed in Westminster.
“This is the latest budget from the Republic of Ireland, a country that has defied expectations, and is now a wealthy, happy, independent nation, at the heart of both Europe and the United Nations.”
The SNP said independence has “unleashed Ireland’s potential, with the country recently enjoying a budget surplus”.
The SNP’s leader at Westminster Stephen Flynn last month posted a message on X reading: “Ireland is sitting on a surplus of €24bn. UK is sitting on a black hole of £22bn. Just saying.”
Ireland is sitting on a surplus of €24bn.
— Stephen Flynn MP (@StephenFlynnSNP) September 27, 2024
UK is sitting on a black hole of £22bn.
Just saying. https://t.co/26TiICBzsZ
UK ministers have repeatedly warned of difficult choices because of the £22 billion black hole they say officials have discovered in British public finances.
It’s leading to concerns Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves could stick with spending plans which would provide limited relief for under-pressure councils when she delivers her Budget on 30 October.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s surplus was more than double what was projected and includes the €14 billion windfall fund from Apple’s unpaid tax.
The SNP said the UK’s “withered tax system rewards the ultra-rich and persecutes hard-working voters”.
It also claimed that there have been “few major changes since Margaret Thatcher’s crusade to turn the UK from a compassionate society to one driven by competition, individualism and self-interest”.
The SNP said that with “full tax powers”, Scotland would “be able to pursue progressive income tax policies while ensuring competitive business and corporate taxes that attract investment and jobs, which Ireland has pioneered so successfully”.
IFAC, which was established to offer an independent view of how the Government manages its budget, has said that the Irish Government’s surplus is driven by an “extraordinary amount of corporation tax” and a well-performing economy.
However, it warned that “if these were to reverse, a deficit of almost €9 billion could emerge”.
The Council also noted that while a surplus of €80 billion is projected between now and 2030, there is a deficit of €50 billion when corporation tax is excluded.
And while the amounts collected in corporation tax have more than doubled in three years, IFAC cautioned that it is “incredibly concentrated”.
“Just three companies account for 43% of all corporation tax — €10 billion of the total €23 billion collected in 2022,” said IFAC this week.
The Government is planning to save less than half of the excess corporation tax and IFAC said more should be set aside, “given how concentrated and risky these receipts are”.
The SNP said Scotland is “more in line with the European neighbours we admire and respect” and noted that there is free tuition and a nationalised rail service in Scotland.
“All this is in danger, thanks to Labour,” said the SNP.
“Spending plans in Westminster have forced us here in Scotland to make difficult decisions.”
The SNP became the largest party in the Scottish Parliament in 2007 and has remained so since.
“If we have achieved this much during 17 years, restrained by Westminster’s devolution rules and the lack of borrowing and tax powers, imagine what Scotland could do with the full powers of independence,” said the SNP.
The party added: “Like our neighbours in Ireland, we could truly build that better path that the Westminster politicians will tell you doesn’t exist. The one they’ll tell you only leads to ruin.
“Well this week, it was Ireland’s turn to prove them wrong.”
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