Thursday’s Scottish budget must offer help to homebuyers, property firm DJ Alexander has insisted.

The lettings and estate agency said the budget represented an opportunity for the Scottish government to establish a “fairer, more equitable” tax on home-buying north of the border.

According to DJ Alexander, the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) system means a small number of buyers in Scotland are “disproportionately” charged much higher levels of tax compared to those in England. Because of this, the agency believes the Scottish property and personal tax system is increasingly dependent on a small number of individuals to provide the bulk of income.

According to DJ Alexander’s analysis, last month just 1,910 homebuyers paid 84.3% of all tax – excluding additional dwelling supplement (ADS) – totalling £42.3m out of a total of £50.2m collected.

David Alexander, the chief executive officer of DJ Alexander Scotland, commented: “This week’s Scottish budget needs to cover a lot of ground without disproportionately targeting one group over another. Politicians always talk of fairness, and that those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden, but we can see that taxes in Scotland increasingly target those who would not traditionally be regarded as wealthy.

“In the property market first-time buyers are punitively charged at a much earlier level than their English counterparts. Tax starts at £175,000 compared to £425,000 in England and Wales. Equally, the higher rate of property tax is charged from £325,001 in Scotland while this rate isn’t achieved south of the border until properties are worth more than £925,000. In Scotland, for properties sold for more than £750,000, just 130 people paid £96,923 each on average, contributing £12.6m which is equivalent to over a quarter (25.1%) of all tax raised in one month.”

Alexander added: “The higher levels of property and personal tax charged in Scotland are being paid at levels that most would not regard as representing the wealthiest in society. Many people can afford to buy properties worth £325,001 yet would never regard themselves as wealthy. We now have a very high burden of property taxation being placed on the shoulders of middle earners which includes teachers, nurses, office workers and others.”