Fiscal autonomy for Scotland
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Fiscal autonomy has come to be used to describe a situation where instead of receiving a block grant from the UK Exchequer as at present, the Scottish Parliament would receive all taxation levied in Scotland and would then make payment to the UK government to cover Scotland's share of the cost of providing UK services.
Broadly speaking, a greater percentage of those who support further moves towards Scottish independence support a move to greater fiscal autonomy while a greater percentage of those who wish to retain the Union between Scotland and the rest of the UK would be opposed. As early as July 2001, former Conservative Party chancellor Kenneth Clarke, said be believed fiscal autonomy would be "disastrous for the Scottish economy". [1] On the other hand, Robert Crawford, the former head of Scottish Enterprise, said in February 2004 that the Scottish economy "could be improved" by fiscal autonomy. [2]
David Cameron, the present leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition, has made it clear that he would not stand in the way of handing full taxation powers to the Scottish Parliament if the idea was supported by the Scottish Conservative Party.[3]
