More than 1,000 higher rate taxpayers fled Scotland to the rest of the UK after Nicola Sturgeon’s government introduced two more income tax bands, a Treasury analysis has estimated. A paper by UK government economists found the changes introduced in 2018/19 led to 1,030 higher earners moving south, costing Scotland £61 million in tax receipts that year. SNP ministers increased the number of bands from three to five and hiked two existing bands in April 2018, in a radical overhaul that increased bills for middle and higher earners. The Treasury analysis found “no reliable evidence of a change in net cross-border migration” for those paying the new 19 per cent Starter Rate, on income between £11,850 and £13,850, or the new 21 per cent Intermediate Rate that applied between £24,000 and £43,430. Changes were detected for those paying the increased 41p Higher Rate – 1p more than south of the border – which applied to income between £43,430 and £150,000. The Treasury said they were “primarily driven by an increase in individuals moving from Scotland to rUK [rest of the UK], which could be to reduce their tax burden and would be consistent with economic theory.” For those on the...