JOHN Swinney has hinted that Scotland could follow the UK Government and lower the tax threshold for higher earners – stressing the move by the Chancellor chimes with the SNP’s “principles of progressive taxation”.

Yesterday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced he was cutting the 45 per cent tax threshold in England from £150,000 to £125,000. Currently those earning more than £150,000 in Scotland are taxed at 46%.

The Scottish Government will set out its income tax plans when Deputy First Minister John Swinney delivers his budget next month.

Nicola Sturgeon suggested yesterday that “steering that towards the upper end of the income scale” for tax increases was a welcome strategy.

Mr Swinney, who is Deputy First Minister and acting Finance Secretary, has also now suggested his government could follow a similar path.

Speaking on BBC Good Morning Scotland, Mr Swinney was asked if targeting “those who can best afford it” was “in line with your philosophy”.

He said: “Our taxation approach in Scotland is based on exactly that premise.

“Kate Forbes, who's currently on maternity leave and who I'm covering for just now, took decisions about the structure of our taxation system, which essentially involves people who are at the lower end of the income scale, paying less in taxation and those at the higher paying more and more comparatively or less than the position of their counterparts in England.

“So those have been the approaches we've taken on taxation, and those are our principles of progressive taxation that we've brought to the heart of the tax decisions that we have made.

“So we'll obviously be considering all of these the implications of the Chancellor's announcements from yesterday in formulating the tax approach that we take for the budget.”

Mr Swinney stressed that “we've now gone from very significant tax cuts under Liz Truss to very substantial tax increases under Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt”.

He added: “So it just shows you the degree of volatility and the lack of leadership from the Conservatives.”

Asked if he was in favour of the new strategy, Mr Swinney said:” Obviously the approach that's been taken here where the wealthier are paying more and those on low incomes are paying less is the tax choices we've made as government in the past, so I don't think it'll be a particular revelation for people to think that those will be points I'll be thinking over the next few weeks.”

Ahead of the budget, Scottish Labour has penned a letter to Mr Swinney, calling in his government to follow Tory ministers and revise the tax bracket for high earners.

Scottish Labour finance spokesperson, Daniel Johnson, said: “Scotland’s economy is entering into some of the toughest times we have faced in recent memory.

“Jeremy Hunt’s cuts budget will leave the UK lurching from crisis to crisis with falling living standards and low growth. “As a recession hits, the Tory message to people struggling is ‘you’re on your own’ - all while they continue to let energy giants rake in billions of profits as bills rise.”

He added: “It is only right that, in light of this crisis, those on the highest incomes should pay their fair share of tax.

“We cannot have the working poor and those in need being made to pay for this Tory crisis.

“That’s why I am today calling on the SNP government to do the right thing and lower the threshold for top rate earners in Scotland from £150,000 to £125,000. “This will generate substantial revenue that can be put towards protecting and developing Scotland’s vital public services.

“I hope John Swinney will put partisanship to one side and engage with Labour on this issue.”

Economists at the Fraser of Allander Institute estimate that if the Scottish Government follows suit with the measure, around 13,000 additional workers would be swept into the higher tax bracket which would generate an extra £80m of revenue over the next two years.

This would give SNP ministers a proportionately less income boost than the UK Government due to Scotland having fewer high earners.

Yesterday, Mr Swinney gave no indication of whether his government would follow suit on tax measures introduced by the Scottish Government.

Speaking on ITV’s Peston last night, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that if tax rises were needed, “steering that towards the upper end of the income scale is better than what we might have seen from Tories in the past”.

But she labelled the move “spin to try to cover up, I think, a really grim situation”.

Ms Sturgeon added: “We are seeing tax rises, spending cuts, budgets being eroded by inflation.

“Household income over the next two years are projected to reduce in real terms by 7%, the UK in recession.

"I’m not sure there’s any good gloss than can be put on announcements that the Chancellor had to make.”