Aberdeenshire Council leaders have come under pressure to oppose council tax changes being proposed by the Scottish Government.
North-east Conservative politicians have called on the leaders of the SNP-led local authority to “stand up” for residents in the region who they argue will be paying a “disproportionate amount”.
From next year, the Scottish Government intends to raise council tax for band E homes by 7.5%, rising to 22.5% in band H properties.
It is claimed that 41% of households in Aberdeenshire will be hit with the council tax rise, coughing-up as much as £30million, compared to a national average of 25%.
The money generated will be placed into the Attainment Fund, to then be distributed to schools across the country.
The Lib Dems have previously labelled the changes a “stealth tax”.
In a joint Scottish Conservatives statement, Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett and North East region MSPs Alex Johnstone, Ross Thomson, Peter Chapman and Liam Kerr said the council tax changes “will not benefit this area”.
They added: “It is time for Aberdeenshire Council’s SNP group to make a decision – are they going to represent the interests of north-east residents, or are they going to toe the party line?
“We believe that taxes collected locally should be spent locally on crucial services like schools, roads and elderly care.
“They (the Scottish Government) should not be penalising families in areas with high property values like Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
“People in band E and F properties are not the rich, they are ordinary, hard-working families.”
However co-leader of Aberdeenshire Council and head of its SNP group, Richard Thomson, said: “The council tax reforms will make the tax more progressive by leaving lower earners in band A-D houses untouched while raising an additional £100m to improve educational attainment right across Scotland.
“Sadly, the Tories have nothing at all to say about the need to target resources at improving attainment amongst pupils from the least well-off backgrounds.
“There is a great deal of hidden poverty in Aberdeenshire, particularly in rural areas, which is not picked up well by the official indicators.”
He added the alternative proposed by the Lib Dems – through a £500million increase in the basic rate of income tax – would “hit the lowest earning households in Aberdeenshire by far the hardest”.
