Finance secretary Derek Mackay told the Scottish Parliament that a total of £572m was collected in 2015-16, up by around £74m on initial forecasts. The increase over projections was made up of £44m in LBTT and £30m from SLfT.

Mackay said: ‘This is the first set of provisional outturn figures that take account of the powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament under the 2012 Scotland Act and they are very positive.

‘We introduced the LBTT last year with the particular aim of helping first-time buyers enter the property market. Almost 9,700 additional house purchases were taken out of tax altogether in 2015-16 and more than 41,600 buyers paid less than they would have under UK stamp duty.’

The LBTT replaced UK stamp duty land tax in Scotland from April 1, 2015 and operates as a banded system, with a £145,000 LBTT-free threshold. A rate of 2% is payable on the portion of the property price up to £250,000; 5% on the portion up to £325,000; 10% on the portion up to £750,000; and 12% on the value above £750,000.

Mackay also touched on the issue of the impact of the UK’s vote to leave the EU on Scotland, saying he had agreed to keep in touch with chancellor George Osborne over the coming weeks.

‘At this point, with a forthcoming change of prime minister and likely impact of Brexit on UK government finances, it is not clear what a future UK government’s fiscal plan will be. It is therefore important we have the appropriate time to consider and be ready to respond to any possible financial impact on Scotland.

‘We will work with the finance committee to ensure the Scottish Parliament has both the time and reliable data it needs to scrutinise our plans. That will see us bring forward a Budget for 2017-18 in the first instance with a full spending review undertaken once we have greater clarity around the likely fiscal future of the UK.’