GERS

This looks at three myths about Scottish independence:

MYTH 1: You'll have had your referendum.

MYTH 2: Scotland has a huge deficit because we spend too much on public services. 

Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) is an annual estimate of the Scottish economy as part of the 

Published annually, the report details the difference between Scotland’s tax revenues and its public service expenditure.

The possible financial costs and risks, or savings and opportunities, of implementing a new constitutional framework are, naturally, not considered in GERS. Similarly, it does not report on the effects of faster or slower economic growth in an independent Scotland.

There is no question that an independent Scotland could run a sustainable budget. But like the UK, an independent Scotland would face major fiscal challenges both in the short and long run.

There is no set of official accounts that tells us how an independent Scotland’s economy would fare, nor what its finances would look like.

The accounts don’t suggest Scotland is in debt at all. People just don't understand how to analyse the UK Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland report (GERS).