The SNP’s tax and spend delusion

What do you think when you think about teachers? Two things, if you are anything like me: low pay and time off work with stress. It’s a hard job, no doubt. Teaching unions jealously guard their grievances and if you say that teachers are actually quite well paid and that teaching is a rewarding career you’ll be hounded by legions of miserabilists on social media. So better not tell them that from next year many teachers are to be classed as high earners thanks to the Scottish government’s latest stealth tax raid. 

Basic grade teachers earning over £43,662 next year will find themselves paying a marginal tax rate of 42p. I’m told that many teachers will still have student debt to pay off too at a rate of 9 per cent. That means a marginal tax rate of 51 per cent, which is hardly believable. And don’t even start about promoted teachers on the Chartered Teacher pay scale which begins at £50,000.