JOHN Swinney has slammed Russell Findlay over a “£950m gaping hole” in his party’s tax cut proposals.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions (FMQs), the FM was challenged on an Audit Scotland report which urged ministers to “set out a clearer vision” for the future by the Scottish Conservative leader on Thursday.
Findlay said: “Under the SNP there’s no leadership, no transparency, no answers, just broken promises, pathetic excuses and making it up as they go along.”
But the First Minister said the Scottish Tory leader may be “in a slightly stronger position to argue for his case” had he not been in favour of the unfunded tax cuts of former prime minister Liz Truss – including urging the Scottish Government to do the same.
“If I’d followed the example of Liz Truss, we would have acute problems in the balancing of our budget this year,” Swinney said.
“Thank goodness I never inflicted that on Scotland.”
The First Minister then turned to a letter he received this week from Findlay, setting out the Tories’ asks for a Budget deal.
NEW: John Swinney has said the Tories have presented £1 billion of tax cuts for the upcoming Scottish Budget - with a £950m 'gaping hole' 🗣'Don't you dare come here and lecture me about the public finances' pic.twitter.com/EAdgU3ld08
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The letter urged Swinney to scrap the 20p and 21p rate of tax, as well as implement rates relief for leisure, hospitality and tourism businesses that would see restaurants and pubs pay nothing at all, and increase the threshold for land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) from £145,001 to £250,000.
Addressing the letter, Swinney said: “Russell Findlay argued for a tax cut that would cost, in his estimation, not mine, £1 billion – a thousand million pounds.
“On the other side, Mr Findlay gave me a paragraph of the savings that will be delivered to achieve his one thousand million pound tax cut, and those savings amount to a grand total of £53.74 million.
“So there’s a £950 million gaping hole in Mr Findlay’s arguments to me this week.
“Don’t dare come here and lecture me about the public finances with the ineptitude that you’ve put forward in your letter to me this week.”
