Follow us
Publications Commentary Research People Events News Resources and Videos About IFS
Home Publications Policies for an independent Scotland? Putting the Independence White Paper in its fiscal context

Policies for an independent Scotland? Putting the Independence White Paper in its fiscal context

David Phillips and Gemma Tetlow
Briefing note

The potential consequences of independence for taxation, public services, and the welfare system in Scotland are a key battleground in the ongoing campaigning ahead of the independence referendum this September. In its White Paper, the Scottish Government sets out a number of tax and spending changes that it argues would lead to a fairer and more economically successful Scotland. In this Briefing Note we discuss a number of the most significant policy changes suggested, and place them in the context of the fiscal backdrop that an independent Scotland looks likely to inherit.

Related Information
DOI 10.1920/BN.IFS.2014.00149
Publisher Institute for Fiscal Studies
ISBN 978-1-909463-43-1
Document link

Download full report

Funded by

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Find out more

Press release
Spending cuts or tax increases would be needed to pay for Independence White Paper giveaways
New calculations – based on forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – suggest that an independent Scotland would face a budget deficit of 5.5% of GDP (£8.6 billion in today’s terms) in its first year of independence were it to inherit a population share of the UK’s ...
Press release
Spending cuts or tax increases would be needed to pay for Independence White Paper giveaways
New calculations – based on forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – suggest that an independent Scotland would face a budget deficit of 5.5% of GDP (£8.6 billion in today’s terms) in its first year of independence were it to inherit a population share of the UK’s ...