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

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.