It's 'full-on John' Swinney's first week after his David Brent-style reinvention – when he promised us a new beginning.
But you won't be surprised to hear that the big new idea is out there: raising taxes to finance the growing state benefits bill.
The kite was flown in a Sunday newspaper which suggested that Mr Swinney and his colleagues are about to ask the British government for the power to introduce taxes on wealth or assets.
If the UK government were to reject this frankly crazy plea, the SNP could introduce a wealth tax under the local tax system, with council estates responsible for enforcement and collection (what could possibly go wrong?)
The idea was pioneered by Brian Leishman, Labor MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, who argued that a two per cent tax on the richest could help tackle inequality.
The STUC has modeled a two per cent tax on families with assets over £5m, estimating this would raise £1.4bn.
It's an embryonic proposal, but it shows the possible direction for Labor and for the SNP, which has increased taxes under its control – but is still not satisfied.
Another tug-of-war with Westminster to seize control of more taxes could be attractive to Mr Swinney as it creates the opportunity for a new blame game if things don't go his way.
Scotland has the most punitive income tax in Britain, with the SNP regime opening up a cross-border inequality that is forcing some of the brightest and best to stay away – or leave.
Even Mr Swinney and his cronies are beginning to think that further widening the tax gap could be counterproductive – hence the hunt for alternatives, and the prospect of squeezing those deemed wealthy enough to absorb the pressure. to make.
This, of course, assumes that there are still people left, or that their financial advisors won't be smart enough to help them avoid the blow.
The year Labor came to power, a millionaire left Britain every 45 minutes – and in Scotland the tax exodus began long ago, leading to a property boom in northern England as workers moved south in an attempt to earn their wages to protect.
Prime Minister John Swinney wants to impose even more taxes on hardworking Scots
While Mr Leishman's figure of £5 million may seem sky-high to many – and it is, of course, a large sum – a significant portion of the wealth could well be related to property.
Retirees who aren't exactly cash-rich, but live in homes that have appreciated in value as prices have risen over the past two decades, could find themselves in the crosshairs of “full-on John” and his crew.
He may find a willing enabler in Sir Keir Starmer and his hapless Chancellor as they drive the economy ever closer to the brink.
Soaking the rich, if they are to stay long enough to endure the pain, is – in the eyes of the SNP strategists who concoct this nonsense – necessary to fund the rapidly rising benefits bill.
It is expected to make up 14 per cent of the 2025/26 budget, rising from £5.3 billion in 2023/24 to an estimated £8.8 billion in 2029/30.
SNP ministers have also promised to lower the ceiling on the two-child allowance – so that it would no longer apply in Scotland – something that is expected to cost an additional £155 million if introduced in 2026/2027, increasing to £198 million by the end of the year. decade.
A country addicted to handouts needs someone to pay for the next solution, and that someone is anyone who works for a living or has been lucky enough to build up a nest egg through years of hard work to support their family. maintained.
Ambition must be punished – after all, this is high-tax, low-growth, low-ambition Scotland, and the dependency culture is our only credible growth industry.
Britain now spends more on sick pay than on defense – and research for a recent Channel 4 documentary found that twelve of the twenty British 'hotspots' for the highest number of recipients were in Scotland.
Remember, around 120,000 working-age Scots have never worked a day in their lives.
It seems that Mr Swinney and Finance Minister Shona Robison are likely to get their budget over the border
And the percentage of people who are out of work but have had at least one job in their lives is only marginally higher – suggesting that unemployment rates are largely made up of people who have never worked.
The SNP's plan to scrap the two-child benefit limit is a political play as it poses a challenge to Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar in the run-up to the 2026 Holyrood election.
His own party is reluctantly opposed to scrapping it (partly because polls show it is a popular policy), so Mr Sarwar finds himself in a difficult position – although his own MSPs will abstain in the vote to approve the budget Mr Swinney to approve, which means it will probably happen over.
They might even support it if the measure is implemented quickly and comes into force on April 1 – something Labor knows is unlikely to happen.
All of this was intended as a smokescreen to distract from the fact that the local government is planning eye-watering tax increases (imagine what they would do to property tax audits…)
It also shows that the Holyrood election campaign will be about who can promise the biggest benefits giveaway.
That is deeply depressing, as the SNP and indeed Labor spend a lot of time paying lip service to the idea of ​​economic growth.
How that can be achieved remains a mystery, but that doesn't stop politicians from banging on about it – as if they've just discovered a new buzz phrase.
If you say it often enough, it takes on a mantra-like character, as it gradually loses all meaning, and the average voter is none the wiser: he is either confused, or bored, or probably not paying attention anymore. on.
In 1980, the BBC's brilliant Yes Minister political satire featured minister Jim Hacker attempting to eradicate government waste – which is also a goal of both the SNP and Labour, we are told.
Things go terribly wrong when Sir Humphrey Appleby, the mandarin of the civil service – who obviously hates the idea of ​​getting rid of bureaucrats – suggests that Hacker should get rid of his own private office to set an example.
Hacker, the Minister of Administrative Affairs, cools the idea when he loses several lackeys, including his driver. One imagines that limousine-loving Health Secretary Neil Gray would be equally unenthusiastic.
Sir Humphrey says: 'The public don't know anything about wasting public money – we're the experts.'
The same could be said of the high-tax SNP, as it exhausts its efforts to reduce waste and inefficiency, while leaving quangos intact – and public administrators (well, someone has to take Mr Gray to the cinema).
The new era of 'full-on John' has arrived, but he and his own Sir Humphreys are sticking to the same tired old script – and they want even more of your hard-earned money.
