Glasgow residents facing 'inflation-busting' council tax rise during cost of living crisis

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Glasgow council is considering an “inflation-busting” council tax rise as the cost of living crisis continues to bite. Insiders said five per cent is the working assumption for a hike that would kick in from April.Councillors last year agreed the same rise in order to help plug a multi-million pound funding black hole.

The Scottish Government believes its draft budget in December was good for councils and should be enough to stave off huge rises.A five per cent increase is considered to be on the lower end of the scale compared to other parts of the country, but the SNP-run council is likely to be criticised over the jump.

Band D council tax in the city is £1499 a year and a five per cent rise would add £74.95 onto the bill.Labour MSP Mark Griffin said: “Councils across Scotland are in financial dire straits after years of SNP cuts and there is a real risk that struggling Scots are forced to pay the price.“While services struggle to cope, inflation-busting Council Tax hikes are looming in Glasgow and beyond.

These hikes are a consequence of the SNP government’s decisions and it cannot pass the buck for them. Scots cannot keep picking up the bill for the SNP government’s failure.”In an interview with the Scotsman, First Minister John Swinney sounded the alarm about 10 per cent rises: "I think if you had a quiet conversation with council leaders where they were not being bound by certain things, they would say to you, 'We got a better settlement than we thought we were going to get'."I think that's the case.