Tax rise warning over independence

AN EMINENT economist yesterday warned that Scottish independence would mean rising taxes when he appeared in front of a House of Commons committee.

Martin Wolf, formerly a senior economist at the World Bank, made his prediction to MPs on the Scottish affairs select committee.

Questioned by MPs on the economic outlook if the Scottish people were to vote for independence, Mr Wolf also warned that a newly independent Scotland would struggle to gain a AAA credit rating.

“There are several factors which might mean that the rating should be lower. One is that it would be an untried government. It doesn’t have a track record. The UK has a very long history of managing public debts,” Mr Wolf said.

He also pointed out that its dire economic situation meant even the UK’s triple-A rating had been the subject of speculation.

Given that Scotland would be “relatively dependent” on oil, he argued that an independent economy would be prone to instability.

Mr Wolf also assumed Scotland would take its share of the debt and would therefore “start off with a big deficit”.