A brave announcement

Did Alex Salmond mean to say it? It did not appear in his pre-written press release here. Indeed, I still can't find any mention of it on the SNP website, which is surprising for what would be a central pledge in the forthcoming election campaign. Maybe Mr Salmond got flustered by the questioner. In any event, The Herald has it in black and white here:

Alex Salmond yesterday gave an unequivocal promise not to raise taxes if he becomes First Minister in an independent Scotland...
Mr Salmond at first said he had "no plans for the SNP to raise taxation in any shape or form". But when pressed that this was not the same as ruling it out all together, he declared: "I'm ruling out tax rises in an independent Scotland. They are not necessary because we are running an absolute budget surplus..."

Awfully categorical. Who knows what the circumstances will be if and when Scotland becomes independent? He should have stuck to the 'no plans' line.