Hamish Macdonell - Local Income Tax dead?

RUMOURS are flying around the Scottish Parliament this afternoon that John Swinney, the Finance Secretary, is about to kick his much criticised local income tax scheme into the long grass.
The plan, to scrap the council tax and replace it with a local income tax set at 3p in the pound, has run into a hail of criticism from business leaders, some unions, student leaders and opposition politicians.
The SNP insisted it would drive on with the scheme, hopefully in partnership with the Liberal Democrats who also want to see a LIT introduced, except they want councils to be able to set their own rates.
There is strong speculation that Mr Swinney told the SNP group today that he had decided to put off the LIT until after the next election.
He apparently is ready to insist he will continue on with his plans, just not in this parliament.
If that is what transpires then it will mean the biggest u-turn in this administration's two-year history and one of the most surprising in the history of the Scottish Parliament.
Watch this space...
ends