Greens propose end of tax relief for Trump’s military
With the White House expanding its military presence in Scotland, the Scottish Greens will lodge proposals in Parliament to end tax exemptions for foreign armed forces.
Greens finance spokesperson Ross Greer has lodged the proposals as an amendment to the upcoming Housing (Scotland) Bill.
At present, foreign militaries are exempt from paying Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (previously known as Stamp Duty) when buying property.
From the 1960s to the 1990s, Scotland was home to a number of US military bases, including nuclear armed submarines at the Holy Loch on the Clyde, and sites on the Mull of Kintyre and in Edzell in Aberdeenshire. There is also an ongoing US military presence at Prestwick Airport, which is regularly used as a rest and refuelling stop for transatlantic flights.
America has recently established its first new military site in Scotland since the 1990s at Lossiemouth, with concerns that this presence will grow under President Trump.
Mr Greer said:
“Scotland cannot go back to being a US military outpost. We certainly shouldn’t be exempting them from a tax which everyone else pays when buying property here.
“This tax break only encourages Trump to increase his military presence in Scotland, something we should be trying to avoid. His recent attacks on Europe and his alignment with Putin’s Russia make it clear that his government is not our ally.
“Ending this exemption is the fair thing to do. Why should the American military get to avoid paying its fair share?
"Rather than rolling out the red carpet to Trump’s troops, this change would also signal that Scotland stands with the victims of US foreign policy, particularly the people of Ukraine and Palestine.”