MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - Every Scot will have to pay $790 extra under independence in order to maintain the current standard of public services, the Independent reported, referring to the analysis conducted by Oxford University professor, Iain McLean.
“Each Scot would instantly be about £480 worse off. To maintain the current standard of public services she would have to pay £480 a year more in tax. Or, if tax rates stayed as they are, she would receive £480 less worth of health, education, or pensions spending,” McLean wrote as quoted by the Independent.
However, professor mentioned that these figures would be right only if Scotland had become independent this year and added that nobody knows whether Scotland would become wealthier in a long-term.
According to McLean, in order to calculate, whether Scotland will benefit from its potential independence or not is very simple. All what is needed is to find out whether oil revenues would compensate for the loss of extra funding allocated under the Barnett formula and UK spending on Scots’ pensions.
Earlier this week, Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said that the Scottish government could save £600m ($1billion) a year by taking decisions different from Westminster.
Swinney argued that if Scotland becomes independent, Scots will never again be forced to fund policies that have been overwhelmingly rejected by people in Scotland.
On September 18, Scots will go to the polls, where they will be asked one question only “Should Scotland become an independent country?"
