THE politicians in Scotland have not had to worry about setting tax rates before and boy does it show.

So far the election campaign is all about income tax and our Holyrood hopefuls are getting into to right fankle.

We’ve had U-turns, backtracking, and general wandering about like lost sheep.

The big row is over who is prepared to tax the rich.

The SNP won’t do it in case they pack up their Luis Vuitton matching luggage sets and head for Kensington.

Nicola Sturgeon said she wouldn’t introduce a 50p tax rate because those who can afford to, might take their earnings somewhere else.

Some may, but it ignores the fact that many of these £150,000 jobs are in jobs tied to organisations based in Scotland like councils, Scottish Water and the Scottish Government.

If the current incumbents don’t want the job anymore then I hereby volunteer to drive them to Buchanan Bus Station and wave them southwards on the MegaBus and we can advertise their post in situations vacant.

Since the policy has not been too popular Ms Sturgeon has since said she would like to increase the rate to 50p in the future and has asked the policy boffins to look at it again in a year or so.

Then Labour, fresh from claiming the progressive credentials by wanting to increase the basic rate, but with a rebate for the lowest paid, have had to do the 180 degree turn.

No rebate, apparently it’s no longer necessary since the UK Chancellor, that nice Mr Osborne, increased the basic rate threshold.

Only trouble is Gideon did that on March 16 and Labour was still arguing its rebate plan until Tuesday this week.

Then we had the Greens, hiking all the way up to the moral high ground with a 60% top rate of tax for those earning over £150,000.

Sounded good when Patrick Harvie announced it and set out the other rates below it to ensure no-one paid more who couldn’t afford it.

Then someone asked Maggie Chapman about it and it melted quicker than a polar ice-cap.

She admitted they hadn’t calculated how much it would raise because apparently that doesn’t matter it’s all about redistributing income.

Then there’s the Tories who are happy to tell all and sundry that the other parties just to want to take hard earned cash from “hard working families”, yes that language is still doing the rounds.

But then they will take it in other ways. Ruth Davidson wants to re-introduce tuition fees for students with a vague price tag attached.

“Somewhere around the region of just above £1500” a year she said.

Taxing times indeed.