Scots continue to be unclear about who is responsible for taxation north of the border.

It is evident that there is a desire for change to the current UK taxation system. This emphasises the need for the powers to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish government’s proposed changes to create a fairer taxation system, particularly the concept of incentivising corporate tax is welcomed.

The most likely overall outcome for taxation is that rUK would treat Scottish individuals and companies in the same way as it treats any other country's individuals and companies (and vice versa).  Scotland will need to establish its own financial regulator and resolution authority and make arrangements for continuing the licences and supervision of Scottish firms.  Arrangements for pension investments and payments will be required.

The early operation of the 2016 Scottish Fiscal Framework and the divergence of UK and Scottish income tax rates highlights the practical issues of devolved tax policy in the context of UK fiscal centralization. 

The current UK tax system is not fit for purpose in Scotland.  It is vital that during the transition period new systems for managing tax in Scotland be put in place.  Taxes will need to be placed on a variety of sources and some of these will need extensive consideration.   The tax and benefit systems must be integrated.

Small countries are vulnerable in a world of large states. But they may have opportunities not open to their larger neighbours. This work examines three different models of adaptation, concluding that, whichever model is adopted, it will require internal reform as well as external independence.

It’s that time of year again when unionists start spreading lies about how an independent Scotland is subsidised by taxpayers money from the rest of the United Kingdom.

There is no set of official accounts that tells us how an independent Scotland’s economy would fare, nor what its finances would look like. Any attempt to analyse Scotland’s finances is instantly hampered by the fact that Scotland is not an independent nation and therefore does not have the same financial data, trade statistics, costs and revenue information available to work with that a normal independent country would have.

If Scotland were to become independent it would gain considerably more control over its tax system than it currently enjoys. This paper considers the consequences of independence for the optimal design of a new Scottish tax system, an analysis which would also be of some relevance for considering the consequences for tax design of independence of other smaller nations.

A conservative anslysis of prospects for taxation in an independent Scotland.

Voters in Scotland deserve the best evidence-based assessment of the likely economic consequences of independence. We have sought to collect and assess that evidence as part of our analysis of the economic implications for the whole United Kingdom.

The case for the Scottish Government’s proposal to half and then eliminate Air Passenger Duty with the stated goal of boosting tourism in Scotland is examined and found to be counter-productive.

Richard Murphy argues that an independent Scotland could fix the inefficiencies and large scale abuses of the UK tax system if it took an entirely different approach, creating a system that works better for Scotland’s economy and society.