North Sea oil has received a major boost from the Chancellor’s budget as it struggles to cope with low global prices according to local Scottish Conservative candidate, Jamie Greene.
George Osborne announced in last week’s budget that the supplementary charge will be halved from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, while the petroleum revenue tax – which was 35 per cent - will be scrapped altogether. The £1 billion tax breaks will be backdated to the beginning of the year.
It is hoped the allowances will help rejuvenate the sector, which has been forced to shed tens of thousands of jobs across the country with effects being felt across Scotland.
Mr Osborne was quoted that it was the “broad shoulders” of the UK which allowed for the relief, and “had Scotland voted Yes in 2014, it would be just eight days from independence with no realistic way of helping the industry.”
It was also announced that the higher tax threshold will increase to £45,000, while the personal allowance will rise £500 to £11,500.
Mr Greene said “this means 60,000 people in Scotland will have been taken out of tax altogether compared to last year, while 2.6 million workers will each gain £86. Had Scotland voted Yes, we'd be just weeks away from starting life staring into a financial abyss. Thankfully, more than two million people voted No, and the broad shoulders of the wider UK has acted to help support this vital industry. I’ve met with and spoken to a huge number of contractors who are based in Ayrshire who commute to work in the North Sea industry. Surely this is a budget decision designed to help them.”
Speaking about the changes to tax, the local Conservative candidate said:
"The tax breaks unveiled by the Chancellor today will benefit every worker across Scotland and are absolutely the right thing to do as wages have struggled to keep pace with inflation in recent years. With tax powers going to Holyrood next year, Nicola Sturgeon now has to decide whether or not to follow suit in handing these tax cuts to people here too. Putting up taxes in Scotland above those in the rest of the UK will send out exactly the wrong message. We need to attract new highly-skilled jobs and grow the economy so we can pay for great schools and hospitals. Putting up tax here will only serve to deter business investment, reduce revenues, and end up depriving our vital public services of the funds they need.”