SCOTTISH Labour has stepped up its demand for a 50p top rate of income tax after HMRC estimates said the number of people eligible to pay it had almost doubled since 2010.

The party said the rise from 11,000 additional rate payers in Scotland in 2010/11 to around 21,000 this year meant the SNP was running out of excuses not to tax them more.

As a result of powers devolved after the 2014 referendum, Holyrood can set income tax rates and thresholds different to those in the rest of the UK.

The SNP advocates raising the top rate of tax for those earning over £150,000 from 45p to 50p, but only if the increase applies across the UK as a whole.

SNP ministers have so far refused to raise it to 50p in Scotland alone in case high earners quit the country, although it has said the policy remains under review.

With Holyrood returning after the summer recess on September 5, and the annual budget process getting underway, parties are now pushing ministers on financial priorities.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said: “We think the richest should pay their fair share.

“It can’t be right that levels of working poverty are at their highest since the Scottish Parliament was established, but the SNP still won’t ask the richest to pay a little more in tax.

“A radical Scottish government making Scotland a better place to live, work, grow up and grow old in should be using the powers of the Parliament to tax the richest and invest.

“The SNP’s refusal to tax the richest a little more means the poorest are hit the hardest.”

SNP MSP Ash Denham said Labour’s plan would ultimately mean less for public services.

She said: “The SNP's position is very clear: we back a 50p top rate of tax across the UK, but to do it in Scotland alone with our current powers could risk losing millions of pounds in revenues given the possibility of cross-border tax avoidance .

“That would mean less money for vital public services - but we have also made clear we will keep the situation under review.

“With the powers we have we are making taxation fairer - unlike Tory moves in England to hand tax cuts to the wealthiest . The SNP’s tax policies mean there is more money to pay for schools, hospitals and other public services.”