Scotland’s annual tax contributions to the UK have increased by £14.2 billion over the last decade, with income tax, capital gains tax and taxes on productions such as environmental levies driving this increased contribution.
New analysis shows that the Scottish public sector generated an annual revenue of £73.3 billion during the last financial year, a 24 per cent increase versus a decade ago, equating to an increased contribution of £14.2 billion to the UK economy.
As a result, Scotland now accounts for 8 per cent of total UK contributions, far more than the 3.5 per cent contributed by Wales and the 2.1 per cent contributed by Northern Ireland, although the populations in those countries are significantly lower.
Commenting on the figures, Bradley Post, the managing director of RIFT, said: “Scotland’s economic contribution to the UK stretches far beyond North Sea Oil and, in fact, there has been significant increases across many areas of the Scottish economy in the last decade.
“So while the topic of Scottish independence may be a contentious one, there are over fourteen billion reasons why the UK should be happy that Scotland remains a part of it today.”