Scottish Conservatives pledge tax cuts in election manifesto
The Scottish Conservatives have announced plans to cut income tax as the party launched its manifesto.
Leader Russell Findlay pledged to raise the point at which taxpayers start paying income tax on their earnings.
He also said the Tories would provide further tax breaks for low, middle and high earners, as well as pensioners.
At a launch event in Edinburgh, Findlay described the manifesto as "comprehensive, costed and credible".
He told supporters his five priorities were cutting tax bills, raising school standards, delivering faster GP appointments, fixing roads and employing more police officers.
The 94-page Conservative manifesto includes plans to allow pensioners to claim back the first £500 they pay in tax on their pension income, as well as proposals to send prisoners abroad and to introduce a two-child cap on the Scottish Child Payment.
Scottish income tax rates 2026-27
The Scottish government has used its devolved powers to set up a distinct income tax system, with six bands to the UK's three.
The personal allowance - the amount a person can earn before they start paying income tax - is set by the UK government. It has been frozen at £12,570 until 2031.
The Scottish Conservatives say they would would mitigate the UK-wide freeze, raising the point at which Scots pay income tax to £13,892 by 2031. The manifesto says this move would save everyone earning more than that amount about £250 a year.
The Conservatives could do this by creating a new 0% tax band above the UK-set personal allowance and adjusting it for inflation each year.
Under their plans, income tax above that level would be cut to 19% up to the higher rate threshold (42%).
The level at which the higher rate kicked in would also be increased to £50,270, matching the UK tax system and providing a tax break for higher earners.
Taken with measures to reduce energy bills and provide taxpayers with a dividend made up of government budgetary underspend, the Conservatives say the manifesto pledges would save Scots earning £15,000 about £551 a year.
Those earning more than £50,270 would save almost £2,500 a year, according to the manifesto.
In his speech, Findlay vowed to bring down the cost of living, grow the economy, improve public services and oppose the SNP.
"We need to get Scotland working after almost two dismal decades of SNP incompetence, failure and scandal," he said.
"Our manifesto shows there can be a different way – a brighter, more prosperous way for everyone."
Findlay told the event in Edinburgh: "This manifesto is our most detailed plan ever for making that vision a reality. It is comprehensive, costed and credible."
He also railed against any push for Scottish independence, warning of "constitutional chaos".
After SNP leader John Swinney told the Times that there could be a second independence referendum by 2028, Findlay insisted his party would stand up for "Scotland's place in the union", adding: "We have just 30 days to stop the SNP."
A second referendum would have to be signed off by the UK government, but Sir Keir Starmer's Labour administration has repeatedly refused to countenance another vote.
Findlay, however, claimed that the "weak and wobbly" prime minister could allow a second referendum.
The Scottish Conservative manifesto pledges include:
- Reducing energy bills, expanding pre-school childcare provision and using the government's annual budget underspend to give a dividend to council tax payers
- A "growth test" for every government policy to see if it would benefit the economy
- Lowering business rates, introduce a cap on the maximum rates rise during revaluation and cut red tape
- Reintroducing the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy, backing exams, increasing school inspections and funding 1,000 extra classroom assistants
- Increasing NHS funding above inflation and bringing back recently retired doctors and nurses to deliver procedures
- Abolishing Land and Buildings Transaction Tax on primary residences and building 80,000 affordable homes in the next five years
- An end to "soft-touch" early-release schemes for prisoners
- Scrapping "light-touch" benefits assessments
- Passing an emergency law to speed up upgrades to key trunk roads like the A1, A75, A77, A83, A9 and A96.
- Fixing potholes and cracking down on e-scooters and illegally modified e-bikes
