THE Jouker has been wondering how the Tories and Labour must be feeling today after it emerged rises in income tax seem to have actually encouraged MORE people to come to Scotland than leave.
If one takes a dive into the archives, you will find Tory MP John Lamont spouting in January that people in the Scottish Borders were struggling to justify living in the country because of taxes.
He claimed he found people “every day” who were finding it very difficult to stay in Scotland because of how much they were paying in tax.
But he must be feeling a bit embarrassed now given that a study by HMRC for the Scottish Government has shown a steady increase in net migration of taxpayers in the five years since Scottish Income Tax was introduced in 2017-18.
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Another man who was handed a slice of humble pie for lunch is Labour MP Ian Murray, who claimed in December more Scots would move to London if income tax for higher earners went up.
The Shadow Scotland Secretary said if the Scottish Government created a new tax band it could cause a "brain drain".
He hopped on his high horse to proclaim: “They need to grow the tax base not milk it with the consequence of more brain drain to London.”
But on average during the five-year period since income tax has been devolved, almost 4200 more taxpayers moved to Scotland than left each year, the study found.
And in 2021-22 – the latest year of available data – £200 million in extra taxable income was brought into Scotland, with more higher and top rate taxpayers moving to Scotland than leaving.
Oh, it’s so awkward…
Maybe it turns out after all that paying a little more if you earn more is nae bother when Scotland offers huge perks like free prescriptions, free university tuition and baby boxes.
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