The Chancellor, George Osborne has today announced a tax cut for 2.6 million Scots.
The tax-free personal allowance is being raised by £500 to £11,500 next year.
Furthermore, the rate at which workers start paying top rate tax is to be raised from £42,385 to £45,000 from April next year.
That means an extra 60,000 people in Scotland will have been taken out of tax altogether compared to last year, while 2.6 million workers will each gain £86.
Today’s budget also included a £1.3bn package of measures, including tax cuts for the oil sector, a fuel duty and whisky duty freeze as well as £658m worth of extra funding for Scotland over the next 4 years as a result of the Barnett Formula.
Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“The tax cuts unveiled by the Chancellor today will benefit every single worker in Mid-Scotland and Fife and is absolutely the right thing to do as wages have struggled to keep up with inflation.
“With tax powers coming to Holyrood, the SNP now has to decide whether or not to follow suit and hand these tax cuts to people here too.
“Because of the broad shoulders of the United Kingdom, the Chancellor has been able to continue to bring the deficit down, while at the same time provide a tax cut for 2.6 million working Scots, a freeze of key taxes covering fuel and whisky and a £1.3bn support package for North Sea oil.
“In contrast, if the SNP’s separation plans had been accepted, Scotland would be just about to announce a budget which included £15bn worth of tax rises or spending cuts.”