Labour party plans to introduce a 50p top rate of tax would see top UK earners pay 24% more tax than the global average, say accounts at UHY Hacker Young.

The increase would amount to about £36,345 on an income of £876,915m, it said, with the highest earners taking home just 50.1% of what they earn after income tax and national insurance contributions.

It would jump the UK from being the 14th more heavily taxed country in the world to being the eighth, according to UHY, which based a study of 25 industrialised countries and used a single person with no children and an income of $1.5m (£876,915) as the case study.

The UK currently has a “competitive” rate of tax compared with Europe but compares unfavourably – from the earner’s point of view – with the US.

Mark Giddens, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said: “The UK government reduced the 50p tax rate in April last year on the basis that this would encourage wealth creation and prevent a brain drain of skilled professionals.

“Reintroduction of the 50p tax rate could be something of a backwards step at a time when other countries are rolling back their top rates of tax and could put the UK at a significant disadvantage to its rivals.

“We would lose some of the edge that we currently have over other Western European countries in attracting successful entrepreneurs and investors.”