• In the UK a surprisingly small % of people pay the majority of income tax: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8513/

    If I were Scots Gov I'd be working out how I could attract people from England to come and live in Scotland who are in the upper brackets.

    Be interesting to see what sort of migration of well paid individuals and families would do to the overall figures - getting your EU passport back, not having to watch as the income tax you paid goes to Matt Hancocks pub landlord rather than paying for the NHS, and watching as Boris has to site Trident submarines in Greenwich are all a powerful motivator.

  • Based on the pre Covid figures analysis below, any high earners moving to Scotland post independence would face a significant tax burden and at least a decade of austerity (Wilson has projected six years in the link below).

    Unsurprisingly (and still the case)...

    The SNP, which currently lacks a detailed economic prospectus for an independent Scotland, did not respond in detail to the FT’s estimates and reiterated calculations from the Wilson commission.

    https://archive.is/yPebu

    Edit to add.. FT from 2 April 2021

  • Based on the pre Covid figures analysis below, any high earners moving to Scotland post independence would face a significant tax burden and at least a decade of austerity (Wilson has projected six years in the link below).

    I qualify as a high earner, I am aware that moving to Scotland would increase my tax burden - and that there are likely to be rough seas before the smooth.

    But, on balance, moving to Scotland, paying more tax, voting for Independence - that's better than staying in England where FPTP means that my vote will never be heard and that my tax is spent on blatant, endemic corruption.

    I'm driving up to Edinburgh on Saturday to get a better idea of where to rent for the next six months ahead of (if I survive the Scottish winter) buying somewhere.

    How many people will do the same thing? Hard to say - but it's the only route out of Tory misrule if you only have a UK passport for many.

    I also submit Nando's closing branches as they've run out of Chicken due to Brexit induced driver shortages as the very tip of the spike that's going to drive itself into Brexit Britain over the next few years. Will a shut Nando make people move to Scotland? No - but constant rolling shortages and closures (and we've not even started performing border checks yet on incoming goods) may persuade those with the means to move.

    I suspect the changes to the way we work will also help this.

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