Opposition politicians have vowed to fight on against controversial changes to council tax, despite the Scottish Government’s plans gaining initial support at Holyrood.
SNP proposals to raise bills for Bands E-H were agreed by the parliament’s local government committee on Wednesday, while an amendment from the Greens was rejected.
The plans have been dogged by controversy after it emerged much of the extra cash raised could be used to fund education in other parts of the country.
It is thought residents in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire could cough-up as much as £47million in extra payments over the next five years – only to see the money spent elsewhere.
The SNP have defended the plans, arguing that three-quarters of households will pay no more in council tax.
But north-east MSP Ross Thomson has committed to continue to fight the proposals.
Aberdeen City Council’s Labour-led administration has already said it will battle to block the plans.
Mr Thomson said: “Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are among the lowest-funded councils in Scotland, and we have a number of issues to deal with such as teacher shortages in our schools.
“We believe that taxes collected locally should be spent locally – it is a fundamental principle of local democracy.
“The local government committee may have approved the SNP plans, but the Scottish Conservatives will continue to oppose this when it returns to the parliament chamber.”
Speaking on Wednesday, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay claimed it “remains the case that every single penny that is raised by council tax will stay with the local authority”.
But, when challenged on whether or not the government would then reduce its grant to councils at the same time, he admitted: “The multipliers will generate more money for local government, and it is with that knowledge that other decisions can then be made about the wise use of resources.”
