Wealthy Aberdeenshire homeowners will hand over an estimated £9million in extra council tax next year – but only £400,000 of it could be spent on local services.
An analysis by the Scottish Conservatives has suggested as much as £8.6million raised in the north-east next year be spent educating children elsewhere.
Tory council group leader Jim Gifford said the SNP’s changes amounted to locally raised taxes being “shipped off to the central belt”.
The SNP plans to raise local tax for Band E-H properties, but then claw back the extra cash to fund a £100million investment in education in the poorest parts of the country.
Nicola Sturgeon’s administration claim only a quarter of homes across the country will be affected – but that jumps to 41% in Aberdeenshire, because of higher property values.
The SNP’s group leader on Aberdeenshire Council Richard Thomson dismissed the Conservatives’ findings as a “recycled Tory tirade” and claimed “they have no proposals of their own”.
But Mr Gifford said: “People across the north-east do not mind paying their fair share, but they will not want their taxes shipped off to the central belt when there are pressing problems here on our own doorstep.
“Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are among the lowest funded councils in Scotland, we do not want to see any more money being siphoned-off to the central belt.”
North-east Conservative MSP Liam Kerr added: “After years of claiming to stand up for the people of this area, we now need to see our local SNP politicians live up to the rhetoric.
“Will they stand idly by and watch £8.6million in local taxes from Aberdeenshire get swallowed up to benefit other parts of Scotland, or will they speak up on behalf of their constituents?”
But Councillor Thomson went on the offensive, demanding the Tories explain why they proposed earlier this year “to cut a further £430,000 from the council’s education and children’s services budget”.
The SNP group would “continue to work closely” with the Scottish Government to ensure fair funding for Aberdeenshire, he said.
He added: “Significant numbers of Aberdeenshire pupils will benefit from this investment in schools.”
SNP MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Gillian Martin, also weighed in to the row, insisting there would be “no change for three out of four Scottish households”.
