Scottish independence: the white paper fiasco leads to business leaders calling for more details from Scottish Government, omnishambles sees experts question where is the detail, where are the facts, only 22% of Scots support it now, complete collapse

Dear All

It seems that the biggest 'back of a fag packet' document in the history of Scottish independence has led leading figures in tax and finance to join the chorus from the heavens of Scots asking for more detail from the Scottish Government.

The business plan for independence is a joke, much like the defence plan, the EU, the currency debacle and of course NATO membership.

The SNP administration badly botched the White Paper by turning it into a political manifesto, two SNP manifestos smashed together into one. It is what it is,  an insult to Scotland and to its people.

If people thought the SNP were capable of producing a detailed route map, this blueprint yet again shows the endless lack of talent in the party which is run as a clique under Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon.

Majors concerns are in all areas, but business leaders are focused on business and that means they need clarity about tax policy.

Atholl Duncan, executive director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (Icas), said:

"Accountants want to see the evidence. They want to see the numbers; it's in their DNA. So as a political document, the White Paper may be deemed by some to be excellent. That's for others to judge. But it's not a business plan, it's a political manifesto."

It seems that Alex Salmond and Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon misjudged the mood of the people again!

Duncan has rightly questioned central SNP proposals such as growing the economy by cutting corporation tax, the race to the bottom which doesn’t help as other countries can follow suit.

Duncan added:

"The White Paper says this will create 27,000 jobs, but lower corporate taxes are not necessarily the main driver. There are many other factors which influence corporate decision making about where people will locate and create jobs. That's why we see a corporate tax rate of 30% in Germany and yet it's one of the UK's main competitors for inward investment. While lower corporate taxes are a good thing, they don't on their own create thousands of jobs."

In other words, the SNP have decided to gamble on assumption while forgetting about proper planning.

That is incredibly stupid.

And then there is the question if the EU or rest of UK would "allow" such a cut in a currency union?

Scotland may find itself out of the EU on the sidelines for years if it gets vetoed by someone like Spain. Also less we forget the main political parties have already said that currency union isn’t on the table.

David Glen, a tax expert at PWC Scotland said on lack of clarity:

"This is one of these points when you look at the White Paper there's a certain level of detail, but perhaps it doesn't go to the level of detail that we all might want. You can perhaps understand that; we're three years away. Is anyone going to lay down hard and fast policies?"

Glen pinpointed the bizarre claim made by a Nationalist pledge that there will be no need for Scotland to raise the general rate of taxation to fund existing levels of spending. Everyone knows that if you want Nordic welfare you have to have Nordic tax.

What?

70% to you and me!

Glen added:

"What does general rate of taxation mean? Is it basic rate? Is it average rate? Don't assume your tax is going to stay exactly the same. I think that insinuates that overall it might be the same but there might be some rebalancing throughout."

For a paper that was suppose to answer everything, this piece of tripe leaves no one any the wiser, if you are undecided then you have no option but to vote No to independence, the work still hasn’t been carried out to a basic standard of competence.

This White Paper runs to around 670 pages, I was expecting hefty tomes running into volumes, and Salmond and Sturgeon couldn’t manage that, 80 years campaigning for independence and they still don’t know what that means!

Critics say the paper is an uncosted wish-list which fails to answer the big questions on major change, we are entitled to know everything, and we are given vague promises and tat. There is no guarantee that Scotland could keep sterling as currency.

Questions aren’t going away about how hard it will be to renegotiate terms for EU membership, Scotland would start from scratch and lose all UK opt outs.

Phil Anderton, a board member of Better Together said:

"Welcome to the real world of business where there are no wish-lists, there are no assumptions and there are no half-truths. What we are talking about is the future of the United Kingdom and Scotland. It's a debate about the governance of this country, not about short-term party political pledges that we hear so often."

A new poll published after the white paper says only 22% of Scots support it, and as the facts come out that the SNP have failed to address major and minor concerns, the No vote will harden.

The meltdown in the Scottish National Party will continue, they have nowhere to go after this botched white paper, in business you can’t sell what people don’t want to buy!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University