Taxing issue of expat independence supporters

I COULD not help wondering where the government of an independent Scotland would gain its revenue if the rest of the Scottish population were domiciled in Monaco like Jim McColl (News, 3 February). Individuals domiciled in Monaco pay no income tax. Of course, the Scottish Government’s council for economic affairs could recommend to close this tax loophole after independence but, with members like Jim McColl, I somehow doubt it.

McColl’s work and commitment to “bringing together skills and education with welfare and employment” are commendable. However, when the richest in Britain continue to increase their incomes while wages for low and middle income families are predicted to be the same in 2020 as in 2000 while costs soar, a rebalancing of income levels between the rich and the rest of us is long overdue.

Any recipe for Scottish economic recovery proposed by those who fail to address this question by their own tax commitment to the country must be treated with the same scepticism as George Osborne’s claim that we are all in this together.

Chris Mullins, Edinburgh