article: Mr Swinney made the announcement as he unveiled his draft budget to MSPs in the Scottish Parliament. He also announced a tax rise on many second homes and buy-to-let properties through a Land and Buildings Transaction Tax levy. And Mr Swinney confirmed that the council tax freeze would continue. The finance secretary warned that the Scottish budget was set to continue to reduce in real terms until the end of the decade, as he said it had done since 2010. Opposition parties claimed that Mr Swinney was "following where the Conservatives lead" and that his budget would result in "massive cuts" to local services such as schools, roads and care of the elderly. And local authority body Cosla warned that funding going to Scotland's 32 councils had been cut by 3.5% - meaning they would lose out on £350m between them. Holyrood will be given limited powers over income tax rates next April under the 2012 Scotland Act, which was passed under the previous UK coalition government. It will see the Treasury deduct from the Scottish block grant a sum equivalent to the product of 10p worth of income tax north of the border. Mr Swinney then had the option of setting a Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT) which could either be lower, higher or the same as the 10p that has been deducted. The finance secretary told the Holyrood chamber: "I propose that the Scottish Rate of Income Tax will be set at 10p in the pound - the rate people pay this year will be the same rate that they will pay next year. "I hope that from 2017/18 this parliament will have more flexibility in setting income tax rates. However, that will depend on reaching agreement on a new fiscal framework and final passage of the Scotland Bill." Among the other measures proposed by Mr Swinney were: Greater controls over income tax are among the measures contained in the Scotland Bill which is currently being scrutinised by Westminster, but these will not come into force until 2017 at the earliest. Mr Swinney said that the Scottish government aimed to set out its longer-term plans on income tax ahead of the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament in March of next year. He said that the Scottish government's aim was to focus on tackling inequality and boosting productivity in order to "create the foundations for a stronger and more inclusive economy". But he said that would need to be delivered within a "significantly constrained" public spending environment. Mr Swinney added: "By 2020 our budget will be 12.5% lower in real terms than when the Conservatives came to power. That is the equivalent of one pound in every eight that we spend being cut by Westminster by 2020." He said that Land and Buildings Transaction tax, which replaced the stamp duty charge on property sales in Scotland, will remain the same for most transactions. But he added: "The exception to this is for buyers purchasing an additional residential property - such as a second home or a buy-to-let - worth more
summary: The finance secretary John Swinney has ruled out an increase in Scottish income tax when Holyrood gets new financial powers next year.