New research by the Scottish Conservatives has shown than more than 50,000 Scottish taxpayers are paying a higher rate of tax than they would in England.
Figures from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) have highlighted 410,000 people in Scotland now pay more tax than they would if they lived elsewhere in the UK.
Of those higher and additional rate taxpayers, 51,000 have been pushed into the higher bracket for those who earn £43,000 or more a year following an SNP decision not to pass on the UK Government’s tax break for middle earners.
The Scottish Government did not support a UK decision to increase the threshold at which people pay the higher 40% rate.
North-east MSP Bill Bowman, party spokesman on taxation, said workers including senior nurses, teachers and police officers, were now among those taxed more than their counterparts in the rest of the UK.
He said: “If you are on a salary of more than £43,000, you will pay several hundred pounds more a year in Scotland than you would if you lived south of the border.
“Aside from squeezing more people into paying more tax, this sends out entirely the wrong message.
“Companies who are competing for staff at the higher end of the scale may find that people are put off by the higher tax agenda in Scotland.
“The Scottish Conservatives opposed this at the time and continue to believe that people here should pay no more tax than those in the rest of the UK.”