Border politics - how similar jobs in the same firm deliver different tax bills

Border politics - how similar jobs in the same firm deliver different tax billsJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLori CarnochanBBC Scotland News, DumfriesPA MediaThe progressive tax system in Scotland means higher earners are taxed more than their English counterparts On the eve of the Scottish parliament election, personal taxation will be one of many factors being weighed up by those heading to the polling stations on Thursday. In the south of Scotland, the main political party taxation policies might come under slightly more scrutiny, as voters compare their salaries with their counterparts over the border. Scott McIver lives in Dumfries and is a senior tax manager with Carlisle-based accountancy firm, Armstrong Watson. His colleague, Graham Poles, is a tax partner with the same company, but lives in Cumbria.These two men work in similar roles for the same firm - but they are taking home different amounts of money every month. It's not due to their salary, but their postcodes. Since 2018, the Scottish government has operated what it says is a more "progressive" six-tier income tax system, which taxes lower earners a little less than contemporaries elsewhere in the UK, and higher earners quite a bit more.BBC NewsSenior tax manager Scott McIver, who lives in Dumfries, pays more tax than his colleague working in a similar role in CarlisleIt includes a 19% "starter" rate of tax - below the UK's 20% basic rate - a basic tax of 20%, an intermediate tax at 21% and a trio of higher rates at 42%, 45% and 48%. At Armstrong Watson, the higher earners in the company are noticing the difference at the end of each month. Poles explained: ''Being a Carlisle firm, we have people [who] live in Scotland and travel down into Carlisle and they're sitting next to colleagues of theirs who live in Carlisle but are subject to a different tax rate.''I know of colleagues that are being paid at that kind of £45,000-£50,000 lev...