A SENIOR Tory MP has been accused of misleading Parliament with claims about Scottish taxes – after Westminster analysis showed most Scots pay less than English workers.

The SNP have demanded Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt “correct the record” after claiming “people in England [paid] lower tax than people in Scotland”.

But analysis carried out by impartial researchers at the House of Commons library, seen by The National, found most Scots experience a lighter tax burden than those down south.

The analysis, authored by a senior Library clerk in its economic policy and statistics division, said that 52% of Scots paid less in tax than if they lived in England, in the current financial year.

That was down from 55% of Scots in the previous financial year, before new tax rates were set at the Scottish Budget set out in December.

SNP MP Patricia Gibson has been battling since the beginning of the year to have Mordaunt correct the record, after she claimed on January 11: “We [...] manage to have people in England paying lower tax than people in Scotland.”

Quoting research from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Spice), the author of the paper added that the difference for those paying less tax was “relatively small, at £22 per year”.

Those on higher incomes pay more in Scotland than they would if they lived south of the Border, the researcher said, with the gap widening “rapidly as earnings increase”.

For instance, the Spice research showed that those on a £50,000 salary would be taxed around £1,500 more in Scotland than they would elsewhere in the UK, while someone earning £150,000 will pay almost £4,000 more over the year.

Gibson said SNP tax policies gave Scots the “best deal” of anywhere in the UK.

She said: “Independent analysis shows the majority of people in Scotland pay less tax than they would in England – while the highest earners pay a bit more to support our NHS and public services.

“Under the SNP, people in Scotland get the best deal of any government in the UK – with free university tuition, free prescriptions, free personal care, free bus travel, free childcare and vital support like the Scottish Child Payment, which has lifted thousands of children from poverty.

“In contrast, the Tories have hammered households with cuts, Brexit and catastrophic economic mismanagement – showing why it's essential to vote SNP at the general election to make Scotland Tory-free and escape Westminster control with independence.”

When approached for comment, the UK Government referred The National to Mordaunt’s response to a question last week from Gibson.

Last Thursday, Mordaunt was confronted about her “hugely inaccurate” comments.

The Commons Leader insisted her comments were “completely true and factual”.