How the wealthy are being primed to foot the bill for net zero
Scottish ministers are being urged to tax high earners to help pay for major projects including net zero upgrades.
The SNP is under pressure from its Green party coalition partners to use taxation to help plug a £1bn funding gap.
It comes as a report delivered to the French prime minister this week called for a £130bn “green wealth tax” on the country’s richest 10pc to ensure it meets its climate commitments by 2050.
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon increased the higher rate of tax, which is due on earnings between £43,663 and £125,140, from 41 to 42pc earlier this year.
The Greens now want a new rate for those earning more than £75,000, but the party did not detail what it would be.
The Scottish government is looking to raise money to fund billion-pound commitments towards decarbonisation of transport, affordable housing, and energy efficiency.
Proposing the tax reforms on Thursday, Green MSP Ross Greer said: “We certainly can’t just cut services to close the gap, and nor would we want to.
“So, we need to be bold with tax policy, which is why the Scottish Greens are proposing a new tax rate for those earning between £75,000 and £125,000 a year.
“I am proud that with Scottish Greens in government, we are already delivering the most progressive tax system anywhere in the UK.”
Jean Pisani-Ferry, one of the authors of the French wealth tax report published this week, said the regime would be the “first of its kind” in the world.
The proposals were dismissed by Bruno Le Maire, the country’s finance minister. However, Christophe Béchu, the green transition minister, said there should be no “taboos” on how to fund the changes.
Household energy bills in Britain are expected to fall by roughly £425 a year following a revision to the energy price cap by watchdog Ofgem on Thursday.
But experts have warned that bills will remain above £1,700 a year – far higher than the level they were before the energy crisis – unless more progress was made in decarbonising electricity.
Simon Cran-McGreehin, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a government advisory body, said: “If we don’t get on with insulating homes, installing heat pumps, and building more renewables, gas demand will remain high and that means bills will too.”
