BUSINESS Manager Sean Wood said overall the Budget was underwhelming.

But he urged Finance Secretary Derek McKay to match Philip Hammond’s decision to raise the higher-rate income tax threshold to £46,350.

The rate in Scotland is currently £43,000 and if the Scottish Finance Secretary freezes it for a second year in a row next month, Scots earning over the threshold will be £670 a year worse off than people living south of the Border.

Mr Wood, 33, who lives in Edinburgh with his wife and three children, believes the threshold should be matched in Scotland – or the gap closed at the very least.

He welcomed the ending of VAT bills for Scotland’s emergency services and the stimulus in the North Sea but believes Scotland did not do very well out of the Budget.

But, the motor industry worker warmly welcomed support for electric vehicles through the establishment of a new £400 million charging infrastructure fund, an extra £100m in Plug-In-Car Grant, and £40m for charging research and development which he said could revolutionise driving.

He said: “I found the Budget fairly underwhelming. It will do nothing to help the working class or stimulate people’s spending power.

“I am obviously not happy at the prospect of paying hundreds of pounds more a year than people living south of the Border and I would certainly urge the same measures to be introduced up here.

“The measures to help the electric vehicle market with the infrastructure fund are certainly encouraging and could really revolutionise electric car driving.

“We have seen a lot of interest in electric cars but people have been put off by the lack of charging points and infrastructure. This could see a massive rise in electric cars which is good for the environment and health.”