No change to Scottish income tax or council tax
Scots will see no increase in either income-tax bills or council-tax payments next year, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has announced.
For the first time ever, Holyrood ministers have to play a part in setting the income tax north of the border, with Mr Swinney announcing it will be fixed at 10p, meaning tax rates will stay the same as they currently are.
In addition, he said council-tax rates would be frozen for the ninth year in a row in 2016-17.
Mr Swinney said the announcements, contained in his budget plans for the coming year, amount to a "dual freeze on income tax and council tax, helping families week in, week out the length and breadth of Scotland".
Under changes brought in as part of the 2012 Scotland Act, ministers at Holyrood are required to set a Scottish rate of income tax, which will come into place on April 6.
Income tax will be reduced by 10p in the pound for Scottish taxpayers but they will then have to pay the new Scottish rate.
Mr Swinney said the powers - which will be superseded in 2017 by proposals in the latest Scotland Bill - did not allow him to tailor the tax system to help lower income Scots.
He then told MSPs: "There will be no change in the income tax rate next year.
"I propose that the Scottish rate of income tax will be set at 10p in the pound. The rate people pay next year will be the same rate they paid this year."
The land and buildings transaction tax, which replaced the stamp duty charge on property sales north of the border, will remain the same for most transactions, Mr Swinney added.
The exception to this is for buyers purchasing an additional residential property - such as a second home or a buy-to-let - worth more than £40,000, who will face an addition charge of 3% of the value.
Mr Swinney said this was "proportionate and fair", adding the new levy "seeks to ensure that the opportunities for first-time buyers to enter the housing market in Scotland remain as strong as they possibly can be".
The Deputy First Minister hailed his overall budget as a "Scottish alternative to austerity''.
He criticised the UK Government and said: "By 2020 our budget will be 12.5% lower in real terms than when the Conservatives came to power.
"This is the equivalent of one pound in every eight we spend being cut by Westminster by 2020.''