Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw claimed that people have been left “alarmed” by the proposal, which was at the heart of the Scottish Government’s budget deal with the Greens last week.

However, the claims were played down by Deputy First Minister John Swinney yesterday, who said the proposal will only allow councils the power to introduce the tax, but there is no need to do so.

The plan includes a pledge to hand Scotland’s 32 local authorities powers to introduce a workplace parking levy if they so wish.

Workplace parking levy: Will you have to pay to park at work in Scotland?

While the hard details have yet to be worked out, such levies generally see employers pay an annual tax to their local council for every parking space they provide for employees. It’s up to employers to then choose whether to pass on the cost of the levy to their staff. In a similar scheme in Nottingham, the cash raised was then invested back into public transport.

Mr Carlaw told MSPs at First Minister’s Questions that he had been hearing from “deeply alarmed ordinary Scots” over the impact of the proposed new tax on workplace parking. He read out a letter from an apprentice in South Lanarkshire who claimed the potential outlay of £2 a day from his wage would be “a lot”.

Transform Scotland, which campaigns for sustainable transport alongside organisations from the private and public sectors, has welcomed the move. “Nottingham has seen a significant increase in public transport use, walking and cycling, reductions in climate emissions, and over £53m for investment in the city’s transport infrastructure,” said Transform Scotland director Colin Howden.

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Readers Poll: Do you support a workplace parking levy in Scotland?