Labour plans huge middle class tax hike, say Tories

LABOUR’S election plans would force middle-income families to pay hundreds of pounds extra in tax, it was claimed last night.

As the battle for second place in next month’s contest intensified, detailed analysis published by the Tories showed that a couple with a joint income of £45,000 in a modest £225,000 home would be among those worse off.

According to the figures, they would have to pay an extra £316 a year through a combination of a 1p income tax hike, radical council tax reforms, and the cancellation of George Osborne’s middle-class tax giveaway.

A family with a joint income of £60,000 in a £325,000 home would face an extra £1,011, a couple earning a combined salary of £75,000 in a £400,000 home would have to find an additional £1,406, and those with a joint income of

‘Huge increases for normal households’

£150,000 in a £500,000 home would be £2,156 worse off.

Opponents argue that those hit hardest by these tax hikes are Scots in the ‘squeezed middle’, and the 40p higher rate of income tax is no longer just a levy on the wealthiest in society.

Approximately one in ten nurses is trapped in the higher tax band, along with a quarter of teachers and one-third of police officers.

Labour last night accused the Tories of being ‘out of touch’ with average wages for Scots.

But with Labour’s manifesto not due out for another 12 days, Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: ‘There’s a good reason why Labour isn’t publishing its manifesto until the very last minute – because they know they are preparing eye-watering tax rises on hard working Scots across the country.

‘These are not tax rises on the rich – they are huge increases for normal everyday households.’

A Labour spokesman said: ‘Only in the world of the Tories is the average household income £150,000. It shows just how out of touch the party really is.’

The spokesman added that two adults on the average wage of £27,710 in a £141,264 property would be only £47.62 worse off.