JOHN Swinney's plans for a new tax to replace stamp duty and make it easier for first-time buyers to get on to the property ladder have been criticised as a "punitive" measure that will leave the middle classes worse off.

Estate agents said that the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, detailed by the Finance Secretary as he delivered his Budget at Holyrood yesterday, would create better opportunities for those buying their first properties but normal working families would be among those to lose out.

Under the new system, which comes into force in April, buyers will pay no tax on a property priced up to £135,000, compared to a tax threshold of £125,000 under the current stamp duty regulations. They will then pay two per cent up to £250,000, 10 per cent up to £1 million and 12 per cent over £1m.

Anyone buying a property above £325,000 will pay more under the new regime, while the tax on a house worth £400,000 will increase by £5,300.

Mr Swinney described it as a "more progressive and fairer" system which would support "first-time buyers and those buying properties in the affordable market".

However, Michael Luck, managing ­director at Slater Hogg and Howison/Countrywide, said that middle-income earners would be left worse off. He said: "This is a tax on the already-squeezed middle. It will be good for first-time buyers, but beyond that it is punitive.

"Houses priced in the £325,000 to £400,000 bracket are not lavish homes in cities like Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen and a hard-working couple with a family looking to buy a three-bedroom semi in a good area near good schools will feel the sharp end of this.

"I think it could stop the upper end of the market dead in its tracks as it will add substantial costs on to purchases in the £1m and above bracket."

According to Registers of Scotland, the average price of a house is £162,122. However, this takes into account the large number of flats, terraces and semi-detached dwellings in Scotland.

The average price of a detached property is £238,210, while in Aberdeen, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire and Edinburgh it is more than £325,000 - meaning buyers in these areas will be hardest hit by the tax.

Austin Lafferty, solicitor and a director of Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre, said: "This is victimisation politics. The regime is either deliberately or ignorantly punitive of those who have worked and saved hard, are aspirational or even just have larger families.

"Yes it is good that the lower end of the market has been given much-needed leeway. But at a balancing point of £325,000 above which the tax will hit much harder than currently, perfectly ordinary individuals, couples and families will be penalised for bettering themselves. These are not fat cats, they - we - are contributors to the Scottish economy."

Dr John Boyle, director of Research & Strategy at Rettie & Co, said that it was likely that the new tax could prompt a slowdown on property sales above the £325,000 mark.

However, Andrew Perratt Savills Head of Residential in Scotland, said in the short term Mr Swinney's announcement may stimulate growth in the market as buyers rush to get a property before the tax comes into force. He said: "We anticipate increased market activity between now and the spring, whereby buyers are likely to make quick and committed decisions before the new tax comes into force in April."