A council tax increase is what the city needs - Alys Mumford

Council Tax is a bad tax. It charges people in lower-value properties proportionally more than people in higher-value properties – the opposite of the redistribution of wealth that tax should support.

A council tax increase will give the city over £24 million to invest in vital services

But a council tax freeze is also a regressive measure. People on lower incomes are already likely to be exempt from paying, and it is therefore wealthier people who benefit most from the freeze in payments.

Moreover, and more relevant to the budget discussions happening at City of Edinburgh Council this week, the current council tax freeze leaves local councils short of much-needed income to invest in measures to tackle health and social care crises, the housing emergency and the ever-present threat of climate change. These are all issues which disproportionately affect poorer people, who will be worse hit when the council tax freeze leads to cuts and reductions in service.

That’s why the Edinburgh Green councillors are proposing a council tax increase of 6.75 per cent in this year’s budget. This increase will give the city over £24 million to invest in vital services, and avoid setting us up for cuts in future years. We are the only political group to propose this, although former Labour now independent Councillor Ross McKenzie also supports an increase.

The Scottish Government has already allocated £16.1m towards Edinburgh in the national budget, and they shouldn’t carry out their threat to withdraw this funding if the council decides to ignore the council tax freeze. If they continue to offer the funding the city needs, our proposed council tax increase will be limited to 1.75 per cent – an extra £25 per year for those in Band D.

It might sound counter-productive to increase a tax that we know to be regressive. And, of course, our ultimate goal is to scrap the council tax. But while it remains in place, it is one of the few levers that local councils have to increase their budgets to provide vital services for everyone in the city. Our Green MSPs in the Scottish Government have already won concessions around local government finance – including a 100 per cent increase in the tax on second homes – with the promise of more in the years to come. For now, we hope that councillors will be bold on Thursday – it might not be popular, but a council tax increase is what the city needs.

Alys Mumford is Scottish Green Party Councillor for Portobello/Craigmillar