The Scottish Greens have told voters that “progressive tax” is the equivalent of a “magic money tree” and claimed the UK is “an incredibly wealthy country”.
Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater’s hard-left party launched their manifesto on Monday, promising to raise “hundreds of millions of pounds” by “reforming income tax so that most pay less while the rich pay more”.
The Greens are proposing a “millionaire’s tax” of 1% a year on all wealth and assets above £1million, including property, land and pensions, as well as a new levy on “frequent flyers” and replacing council tax with a property tax so that “the wealthiest pay a bit more”.
Also on Monday, UK Labour posted a campaign message on X to say: “There is no magic money tree. Rishi Sunak’s and the Tories’ unfunded spending commitments are a risk to you and Britain’s finances. The money isn’t there. Only Labour can be trusted with Britain’s economy.”
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But Blair Anderson, the Scottish Greens councillor for Partick East/Kelvindale in Glasgow, replied: “There is – it’s called progressive tax. The UK is an incredibly wealthy country. We can afford good public services. We just need to take the money from the wealthiest to pay for them.”
His post was retweeted by the Scottish Greens. The phrase was first used by former home secretary Amber Rudd during a TV election debate in May 2015, when she accused then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of believing in a ‘magic money tree’.
It seemed to resonate with the electorate and has been a popular attack line for the Tories ever since, with Labour now borrowing the rhetoric as Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves attempt to calm fears they will hike taxes south of the Border
The Scottish Greens have no such ambitions, having already been part of a coalition government with the SNP that has made Scotland the most heavily taxed part of the United Kingdom. Despite the higher taxes, the current administration has still created a funding black hole of more than £1.5billion.
In response to Labour’s tweet, Green MSP Ross Greer said: “If Labour replicated Scotland’s (successful, delivered by the @scottishgreens) progressive income tax system UK-wide it would raise an extra £11 billion – enough to scrap the 2 child limit about 8 times over (lifting 250,000 children out of poverty). They refuse to do it”
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