Higher rate earners in Scotland will continue to pay more tax than their counterparts in England from April 2019 after the Holyrood’s government’s finance secretary confirmed he would freeze the higher rate threshold for a further year.

The key income tax measures increased the starter and basic rate bands by inflation. However, the higher rate threshold, which is paid by the top 15% of taxpayers in Scotland, will be frozen at £43,430 for the new tax year, compared with £50,000 from 2019-20 in the rest of the UK.

As a result, Scottish higher rate taxpayers earning £50,000 would pay £1,544 more tax compared with those in the rest of the UK, based on Chartered Institute of Taxation calculations.

In his Budget statement, Derek Mackay said 55% of Scottish …