Scottish election: SNP vow to raise council tax age of liability to 21

Forbes said that by increasing the age at which people are accountable for paying the tax from 18-years-old, will save young people - who live in their own homes - hundreds of pounds a year.

Speaking at the SNP’s campaign conference ahead of the May 6 Holyrood election, she made the pledge in response to the “stark impact” the coronavirus pandemic has had “on the job prospects of our young people”.

Forbes said: “In recognition of the impact Covid has had on lives and opportunities for young people, particularly those entering the jobs market for the first time, we will increase the age at which young people become eligible for council tax from 18 to 21.

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“For a young person living alone in a Band B property that will mean an annual saving of around £750.”

Credit: PA

With Covid-19 also having a “disproportionate impact on women”, Scotland’s Finance Secretary also promised additional help for women starting their own business.

She said that over the duration of the next Scottish Parliament the SNP would invest £50 million in a Women’s Business Centre “to help create, grow and develop the next generation of women-led businesses”.

Additionally, an SNP government would invest more than £33 billion in infrastructure over the next five years, to support 45,000 jobs in Scotland.

Forbes also pledged to a new £20m Rural Entrepreneur Fund, to provide grants of up to £10,000 to support the creation of 2000 new businesses in remote communities.

She said that the “next session of the Scottish Parliament will be crucial to Scotland’s recovery”.

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SNP opponents have frequently criticised the party for continuing to pursue another Scottish independence referendum after the pandemic.

Yet Forbes insisted independence could help Scotland’s economic recovery post-Covid.

She argued: “Some people might say we should put economic recovery before independence. But you can’t have one without the other.

“For a strong, robust, green recovery we need independence.

“Why? Because, quite simply, we know what happened last time the Tories were in charge of economic recovery.

“After the crash of 2008, the Tories embarked on a decade of austerity – balancing the books on the backs of the most vulnerable.

“Our ambitions should be bigger than just mitigating the Tories’ economic incompetence and brutal welfare policies.

“But be in no doubt, without the powers of independence, it will be a Tory government that undermines our recovery.”