Businesses could soon be forced to pay for office parking spaces under controversial plans backed by SNP and Green ministers.
Transport minister Jenny Gilruth today denied workplace parking levies amounted to a "tax on workers" and would instead allow cities to raise cash for public transport improvements.
The Scottish Government passed a bill in 2019 which hands all local authorities the power to introduce charges for car parking outside offices and other workplaces.
A similar scheme already exists in Nottingham and is now being considered by several other councils in England.
Supporters say it raises much-needed cash for improvements to public transport while reducing car use on already congested roads.
Council bosses in Glasgow and Edinburgh have previously expressed interest in introducing parking levies on big businesses.
The levy would charge city-centre firms up to £1,000 a year for every parking space they have - although in Nottingham the levy is £428 per space.
But the Tories want the WPL bill scrapped before it can legal effect this year.
Gilruth - the SNP's newly-appointed transport minister - said the powers would bring Scottish councils in-line with those in England.
She denied it was a "tax on workers" when quizzed by Labour's Monica Lennon at a meeting of Holyrood's net zero committee today.
Lennon said: "We have a public in Scotland who absolutely get we have a climate emergency - but they want to be taken on a journey that is fair and is just."
The Labour MSP repeated warnings from trade unions who claimed Scotland's public transport wasn't up to scratch and the parking levy will "penalise workers who have genuine concerns".
She asked Gilruth: "What reassurances can you give workers that this is not going to push them further into poverty and this deep cost of living crisis?"
The SNP minister responded: "It's important to remember the liability for the charge itself sits with employers, not with employees.
"It's a matter for employers on whether they pass that cost on to employees.
"It's not a tax on workers per se."
Gilruth added: "We know those in lower incomes households are less likely to have access to a private car.
"Also, those living in more deprived areas are more disproportionately affected by the negative impact of car usage including from pollution and road danger.
"Our aim is absolutely is to move away from the status quo of car dominance that already negatively impacts those on lower incomes."
The Scottish Government has already signed a commitment to reduce the total distance travelled by cars north of the Border by 20 per cent by 2030.
The ambitious proposal is part of a broader plan to help the country meet its tough net zero targets to help reduce climate change.
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "Workplace parking levies are a charter for extra cost and complexity, and it is disappointing that MSPs have backed them.
"The introduction of any levies will see firms taxed twice for the parking places they provide for staff, on top of the business rates already paid on those spaces.
"However, the failure to impose any cap on what can be charged or appropriately assess the business impact of the scheme means there can be little certainty on the effect of these proposals – it’s quite possible MSPs may well have voted for a pig in a poke."
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