Sir, The SNP and the Yes campaign trot out the claim Scotland pays more in tax revenue per head than the UK as a whole but fail to tell the full story by omitting to inform us of Scottish Government expenditure relative to the UK.
In a recently published report (Scotland Decides 16 Questions to Think About) commissioned by the independent Tom Hunter Foundation, the full story is starkly provided using the Scottish Government’s own figures.
When a geographic share of oil revenues is included, Scotland does indeed generate £789 more in tax receipts than the UK average per head, as claimed by Alex Salmond and John Swinney.
However, Scottish Government expenditure per head is £1,256 higher than the UK average, which these gentlemen conspicuously fail to mention.
As one of the highest public spending countries in the world, Scotland will have no choice but to cut expenditure, raise taxation or borrow or a combination of all three to balance the books.
This is hardly a foundation for the gold-plated economy and increased benefits for all which we are being falsely and glibly promised, especially when the only tax issue mentioned by the SNP is a reduction of 3% in corporation tax. A recipe for a future utopia this is not.
Dr GM Lindsay. Whinfield Gardens, Kinross.
Destroying UK will be costly
Sir, Politicians do not create industries or jobs, unless you consider public sector jobs as job creation. Only businessmen people and entrepreneurs can create new industries and new jobs.
Politicians raise taxes, decide on rates of tax, who pays what and give tax incentives to established businesses to operate in specific regions.
This means giving taxpayers’ money your money to those (mainly) foreign-owned businesses. This was the case with the multibillion-pound Amazon.com, Inc, which had more than £10 million of your money thrown at it by Alex Salmond.
But Amazon pays only a pittance in taxes and its workers are treated like slaves for minimum wages. So much for a fairer and more equal society.
A vote for Alex Salmond will benefit him and his cronies and will achieve what Hitler failed to do: destroy Britain. No one has a crystal ball and to state categorically that Britain will not face threats from aggressor nations in the future is criminally irresponsible.
If you vote to break up Britain, major companies are heading south, causing massive job losses. Unemployment is going to dramatically increase.
Your pensions are at risk. Most people are under the illusion that their pension is ring-fenced and safe but this is not the case. The pension you get is paid for out of taxes from the earnings of today’s workers. But with huge job losses and rising unemployment in a separate Scotland, who will be in work and paying taxes to pay for your pension?
Mr Salmond’s plan is to encourage large numbers of immigrant workers to pay taxes. But where are the jobs? What industries are recruiting large numbers of workers? If there are more job vacancies than unemployed, why are so many unemployed? And if those immigrants work for less than Scots, they will be taking away the livelihoods of Scots. How is that a fairer and more prosperous society for Scots?
Interest rates will rise and mortgage payments will increase but with a fall in property prices. Your house price will drop in value.
With huge numbers of jobless, those in employment will find themselves paying more in taxes to pay for those out of work. Local services will have to be cut, withthe inevitable suffering felt by all.
Will Brooks. 13 Kirkside Court, Leven.
Borders and NHS concerns
Sir, I have had to travel to an English hospital for cancer treatment not available to me in Scotland. My son has also had to be transferred to The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle to obtain life-saving treatment for heart disease.
If Scotland votes yes tomorrow, how will this have an impact on those such as ourselves, who require treatment not available to us in Scotland?
James Webster. 9 Auchmore Drive, Blairgowrie.
No vote money in the bank
Sir, A few nights ago a Yes campaigner knocked my door. I explained to him that, under UK Goverment legislation, everyone’s savings in the bank is protected up to £85,000, to which he replied “of course I know that; I’m an economics adviser”.
My question to him was: how would everyone’s savings be protected in an independent Scotland. After a bit of stuttering and stammering, the Yes economics adviser apologised and said he did not know.
So, anyone with savings, remember, with no currency union there is no lender of last resort and a yes vote would leave your savings unprotected.
Mike Rogalski. 82 Feus Road, Perth.
From a position of strength
Sir, Having brought up our family in Scotland, I have enjoyed the security and benefits of being part of the UK. Current uncertainty and unrest makes me apprehensive as to whether an independent Scotland would be unable to cope with the challenges which may arise in the future.
Can we really afford to leave our position in the UK, which has built up its strength in the world over many years, and forge ahead into an area of such uncertainty and risk?
Deborah Paterson. 1 Beveridge Road, Kirkcaldy.
And poverty gap widens still
Sir, Westminster MPs’ salaries are to rise by 10%, while the national average pay rise is 0.6%. It is also reported that despite the MPs’ expenses furore, expense claims are running at an all-time high.
The House of Lords houses some 850 hangers-on, totally unelected and totally unaccountable, who can claim a daily allowance of £300, plus expenses.
Bankers, who caused the economic downturn, continue to receive obscene, multimillion-pound bonuses largely from the public purse.
The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen, with more and more food banks being set up.
House prices in England rise by 10.7%, while Scotland trails well behind at 6.0%. The £43 billion High Speed 2 train project will start in London and stop in the north-west of England.
The Barnett formula is to be revamped or even removed, the belief being that Scotland’s budget allocation from Westminster will take a real hammering. The list is almost endless. Certainly not a lot to stay together with Westminster for.
There can only be one vote that will change things for the better: yes.
Joe Purves. 31 McKenzie Crescent, Lochgelly.
Scaremongers in No camp
Sir, It saddens me to read about the way that Yes activists are portrayed in the media. I have been leafleting and canvassing with Yes activists throughout Fife and a nicer bunch of people it would be hard to find.
I have encountered real anger from some no voters who are genuinely scared of a yes vote. Anyone who believes the scaremongering from the no camp will obviously be frightened and it is this constant talk of Armageddon that is raising the tension in this debate.
After a yes vote it will soon become clear the world has not ended and everything will carry on much as before, but with more hope for the future in what will be a modern, democratic country.
Talk of a divided nation will quickly vanish as everyone in Scotland gets together to build a better nation for future generations.
Andrew Collins. Ladyburn House, Skinners Steps, Cupar.
The birth of a nation?
Sir Determining the independence of our nation the status of which was cruelly handed over to Westminster by a tiny minority against the wishes of the Scottish population has come to the point where (as highlighted in Leslie Milligan’s letter in Saturday’s Courier) a close result could and probably will be determined by a percentage of the population who are not Scottish born.
Making a decision on a country’s nationhood and independence should really only be determined by native-born voters. You can only be born in one country and, naturally, your allegiance, facing a conflict of interests, will likely sway in that direction.
Leslie Milligan refers to the 750,000 Scots living in England who are disenfranchised. In Scotland, however, there are 460,000 English-born residents approximately 8.68% of the population, possibly nearer 10% of qualifying voters.
There are, of course, many thousands of other residents from foreign lands who will be voting. Between them these non-native Scottish residents are going to decide Scotland’s immediate future.
We have become a retirement dormitory for wealthy English pensioners and who can blame them. However, it creates in Scotland the curious anomaly of having a high ageing population with the lowest life expectancy in the UK.
Clearly this does not compute until you assess the relative population movements between the two countries, not forgetting the diaspora of Scots who have also been required to go elsewhere for suitable employment opportunities etc.
With the vote likely to be close, it would have been beneficial to have had separate/different-coloured ballot papers issued, which highlighted whether the voter was native born or otherwise.
Mother Nature determines many paths of an individual’s life. In tomorrow’s vote, Mother Nature will most likely decide an unwanted path for many. This seems unnatural and most probably an unprecedented phenomenon in democratic voting.
Hugh Cameron. 33a Thomas Street, Carnoustie.
There’s safety in numbers
Sir, With the increasing turmoil across Europe and the globe and the increased risk of terrorist activity, we should be proud of our UK defence and intelligence services, which protect our citizens at home and when travelling abroad.
Often not appreciated, and rarely seen, the work that goes on behind the scenes and in the embassies around the world is something an independent Scotland would not have the financial ability or skills to achieve alone. Yet as an integral part of the UK, we can make an important contribution to it and enjoy these privileges together.
Like some other areas of government, the knowledge and skills required, and the costs of establishing and running the various government agencies, have been seriously underestimated by the SNP.
Neville Smerdon. Coaltown of Balgonie, Fife.
Windows of opportunity
Sir, The obvious proliferation of yes window notices and a lack of many no ones shows many of the yes campaigners are unsure of their beliefs, to the point of desperate worry. They are actually trying to convince themselves. The no voters are quietly confident that they are choosing correctly and, in any case, they don’t want their windows broken.
R J Soutar. 37 Camperdown Street, Broughty Ferry.
What if shoe was on English foot?
Sir, With his visits to Scotland (at least he found it) and the raising of the Saltire over Downing Street, David Cameron is no doubt preparing for his final action to win the referendum.
It can now be exclusively revealed he intends to move the UK Parliament to Edinburgh and reduce Westminster to a devolved body with limited tax-raising powers for England.
As our southern neighbours do not see this as being an issue for other countries in the UK, they can have no issue with this approach and will warmly support this development, which would keep the Scots in the fold.
John Munro. 14 Newmiln Road, Perth.
A Yes result will make me proud
Sir, I am not a “proud Scot” but I will be voting yes so that I can aspire to become a Proud Scot.
Graham Young. 37 Polepark Road, Dundee.