Scotland’s readiness to raise taxes for middle and higher earners is contributing to a brain drain of financial services talent to England, industry sources have warned.
Humza Yousaf admitted that continued increases in charges on income risk people fleeing south of the border, particularly if Rishi Sunak bows to pressure from his backbenches to cut taxes.
However, the first minister opened the door to a Scottish wealth tax as a way of plugging the £1 billion black hole in Holyrood’s budget that would pay for a series of welfare policies.
SNP and Green ministers have already introduced five different income tax bands and Yousaf has mooted another new band, likely for earnings of £75,000 to £125,140. At present, anyone earning about £28,000 pays more tax
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