Inverness

The Scottish Socialist Party staged a protest in Inverness yesterday to demand an end to the council tax.
About 40 campaigners held the lunchtime demonstration outside Highland Council's HQ in Glenurquhart Road after the authority approved its council-tax rate for the coming year.
Councillors yesterday announced a rise of 5.1%, as predicted.
The SSP has now vowed to step up its campaign, both inside the Scottish Parliament and on the streets, calling for replacement of the tax by a fairer system based on income.
The protest was part of a series of synchronised demonstrations outside council chambers across the country by Scrap the Council Tax groups, pensioners' forums and others who complained that the tax is regressive and an unfair burden on senior citizens, workers on low-to-medium incomes and their families.
It marked the launch of what is promised to be an ongoing campaign that will involve a large-scale national demonstration in Glasgow on April 24.
Highlands and Islands SSP spokesman Steve Arnott said yesterday: "We are calling for council tax to be scrapped altogether. People are dismayed that, once again, council tax has gone way up beyond the rate of inflation.
"Council tax was introduced 12 years ago and, for the past 11 years in Scotland, rates have risen above the rate of inflation. Pensioners and people on average incomes do not get big enough wage increases to cope with it.
"However, this is just the start of our campaign to put the nail into the coffin of council tax." Press and Journal


Aberdeen Press and Journal