Nicola Sturgeon has claimed Scottish industry is footing the bill for the UK Government’s response to spiralling energy costs across the UK.
The First Minister said the windfall tax on oil and gas firms had not been implemented fairly as the sector north of the border was carrying a “disproportionate burden”.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak bowed to pressure last week by unveiling £15bn of measures to tackle the impact of soaring inflation, which has reached a 40-year high.
Every household will get a £400 energy bill discount under a cost-of-living package partly funded by a £5bn windfall tax on oil and gas companies, many of which operate in Scottish waters.
The Tory Government had resisted a windfall tax but relented after pressure by Labour, while the SNP are also sceptical of a standalone tax on one industry.
Speaking at Holyrood, Sturgeon said: “After months of delay, the UK Government belatedly conceded the need for a windfall tax to help those struggling to make ends meet. Action that the Scottish Government had been urging them to take.
“However, we have also made the point that oil and gas companies are not alone in profiting from recent global events, and that a windfall tax should apply to all companies posting significantly higher profits.”
She added: “The Chancellor's failure to implement this fairly now means that Scottish industry is carrying a disproportionate burden of funding what is a UK-wide response, and it also means that the support available is still far too limited.
“By widening out and using the fiscal headroom available, the chancellor could have gone beyond one-off measures and introduce long term strategies such as, for example, introducing an equivalent of the Scottish child payment.”
Asked by an SNP MSP whether she agreed that Scotland’s resources are “bankrolling” the rest of the UK, she replied:
“I may go as far as to say the broad shoulders of Scotland are helping all of the UK this time.”
She continued: “We called for a windfall tax, but I think it would be better to see one that is fair and that applies to all companies that are benefiting from excess profits from current global events, or from the pandemic.
“So I think the chancellor has missed a trick with this watered down levy and of course left Scottish industry to foot the bill for the whole of the UK, not for the first time.”
Sturgeon echoed SNP MP Kirsty Blackman, who was criticised at the weekend for claiming it was “very unfair that Scotland is having to pay for the entirety of the UK”.
Scottish Labour MSP Colin Smyth said: “After months of opposition to a windfall tax despite the cost-of-living crisis, the SNP seem to have found a new narrative of grievance - that through such a tax Scotland is paying for the rest of the UK.
“What Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP fail to understand is that it is not Scotland that is being asked to pay its fair share, it’s multi-national oil giants who are making tens of thousands of pounds in profit every minute.
“Not for the first time the SNP’s mask has slipped to reveal a government focused on fostering division rather than prosperity or social justice.
“When the oil and gas industry crashed, taxes from across the UK kept public services funded. Now - as companies take in billions - oil and gas giants should help alleviate poverty in Glasgow and in Liverpool.”
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