Don’t dare impose car park tax, says SNP MP
A SENIOR Nationalist MP has called on a council to rule out a workplace parking levy – despite the SNP wanting to give local authorities the go-ahead.
Pete Wishart appeared to join the backlash against the plans, which will mean tens of thousands of Scots are forced to pay nearly £500 to park at their place of work.
In a bid to distance himself from the policy, the Perth and North Perthshire MP claimed that any such charge in his constituency area would be down to the ‘Perthshire Tories’ – and not the SNP.
The new tax is the result of a Budget deal between Finance Secretary Derek Mackay and the Greens. The Government is set to back a Green Party amendment to the Transport (Scotland) Bill which will give councils the power to introduce the levy.
Firms with 11 or more parking spaces would be forced to pay the levy, with the option to pass the charge on to staff.
Three councils – Scottish Borders, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway – have already ruled out imposing the levy.
Yesterday, Mr Wishart urged Perth and Kinross Council to confirm it will not do so either. On Twitter, he wrote: ‘I’ve written to the Tory leader of Perth and Kinross Council to ask him if he is ruling out implementing a “Perthshire Tory car park tax”.
‘It’s a matter exclusively for the Perthshire Tories here. Surely after all the stuff from their proportional list MSPs they wouldn’t dare.’
His intervention comes amid a growing backlash against the car park tax plan.
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said: ‘Pete Wishart’s endorsement of the Scottish Conservative campaign against the SNP’s car park tax is very welcome. Mr Wishart is just the latest in a long line of SNP MSPs and MPs who have criticised this tax, as it would cost someone driving to work £500 per year. The tax has been a disaster from the beginning and the SNP must abandon it.’
When challenged on his inter- vention, Mr Wishart claimed that the SNP had ‘introduced nothing’ and that it was the ‘responsibility’ of local authorities to bring in a workplace levy.
He reiterated that if charges were introduced by Perth and Kinross Council it would be a ‘Perthshire Tory car park tax’, thus attempting to distance his own party from the move.
Mr Mackay pledged to devolve the powers for imposing the levy to local authorities, giving the green light to more taxes on hard-working Scots.
So far, only the SNP-led Glasgow City Council and the SNP/Labour City of Edinburgh Council have confirmed their intention to introduce the levy.
An SNP spokesman said: ‘It is surprising to see Scottish Tories so vocally opposed to powers being devolved to local authorities when they claim to be advocates for such empowerment.
‘The ability to make more decisions locally is a key request of councils.’
He added: ‘The introduction of such a levy will be for individual local authorities to decide upon, based on local circumstances.’