Taxpayers will have to fork out an eye-watering £500 million a year just to service the spiralling debts run up by John Swinney’s SNP government.
Plans to borrow a record amount of money to pay for infrastructure and building projects have led to claims that the SNP is ‘mismanaging the nation’s finances’.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison has promised ‘efficient public spending’ and also threatened tax rises including a possible wealth tax.
But her Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) also revealed plans to borrow millions of pounds, leaving the bill for repayments and interest soaring to an astonishing £499 million a year by 2030/31.
The jump in borrowing has sparked accusations that the Finance Secretary is using debt to fund a pre-election spending spree before next year’s Holyrood poll.
Figures buried in the appendices of the MTFS reveal the ever-rising cost to the public purse of servicing Scotland’s growing mountain of debt.
This year, the public will have to stump up a record £302 million for repayments and interest on the debt run up by the SNP since 2017, when the Scottish Government was first given borrowing powers.
But costs to the taxpayer are set to soar even higher.
Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison threatened tax rises while signing off on record borrowing
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy has said plans to borrow record amounts ‘fits in’ with the SNP’s ‘abysmally irresponsible record of failing to live within their means’
According to the government’s own forecasts, by 2030/31 the bill for repayments and interest will have rocketed to £499 million a year.
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said: ‘The plans for record borrowing tucked away in the small print suggest that the SNP hopes to hand out some sweeties before next year’s election.
‘It fits in with their abysmally irresponsible record of failing to live within their means.
‘We’re already paying hundreds of millions just servicing the debts the Nats have run up. Instead of trying to find last minute bribes to keep themselves in office, they should be tackling bloated and wasteful spending, and cutting the tax bill for hard-pressed Scots.’
The UK Government last week published an analysis showing that the recent spending review by Chancellor Rachel Reeves would mean an additional £9billion for Scotland, including almost £6 billion extra for Holyrood thanks to higher UK spending on health, as well as £2 billion for education.
And Labour’s finance spokesman Michael Marra said: ‘The SNP is borrowing more and receiving record sums from the Labour government but it’s hard to see what we’re getting in return.
Scottish Labour’s Michael Marra said the SNP could not be trusted with public money
‘Public infrastructure is crumbling and flagship projects are in chaos as a result of the SNP’s mismanagement and waste. The truth is the SNP cannot be trusted with public money.’
Ms Robison unveiled the MTFS at the end of last month, telling Holyrood: ‘Growing the economy is a top priority.’ She also pledged reforms ‘to increase value for the public purse’, with efficiencies and improved productivity in the NHS and across the public sector.
Ms Robison also warned of future tax rises, saying: ‘We will also take forward work on considering future reform to the tax system, including developing our thinking on longer term issues such as wealth taxation.’
Wealth taxes – which are also being discussed at a UK level – are intended to reduce economic inequality by targeting the wealthiest in society.
The idea is to tax all, or most of, an individual or household’s total net wealth, including assets such as savings, investments and property, rather than just income.
Although no specific proposals have been drawn up, such a tax could involve an annual charge levied on the richest based on the value of assets owned.
However, Ms Robison’s speech to MSPs failed to mention her plans for plunging Scotland further into debt.
The scale and cost of the SNP’s borrowing is only revealed in the appendices of documents published alongside the minister’s statement.
Figures show that this financial year Ms Robison is borrowing a record £472 million extra to fund capital projects – taking Scotland’s accumulated debt to a total of £2.8 billion.
Forecasts show that the country’s overall debt will soar to £3.6 billion within five years.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘By following a fiscally sustainable approach to borrowing, the Scottish Government has been able to maximise capital funding this year, helping deliver new infrastructure and supporting economic growth.’
