To think wealthy people will leave Scotland?

[Juniperberries25]

..if the YES side win a referendum? Surely a lot of successful businesses and people who are wealthy/ comfortable/ have paid into a pension will not want to risk all their assets becoming worthless? Or am I missing something? Higher taxes, unknown currency, economic uncertainty, hard border, national security concerns etc

It would cost BILLIONS to set up new Government bodies (eg DVLA, Passport office, MI5, MI6, Amy Navy, RAF to name a few) so surely taxes will be much, much higher than rest of the UK?

Just to clarify I am NOT a fan of Boris but surely he will be long gone by the time Scotland actually became independent after YES vote (probably at least 10 years, just look at the BREXIT timeline).

Please don't flame me, I am just wondering what people think as I genuinely don't get how the benefits outweigh the risks.

England is not a great place to live tbh. Wealth very unevenly distributed and increasingly so. This does affect quality of life for a great many.

I think once Scotland is independent, it may not be the SNP in power after the next election. Scotland is a democracy, independence does not have to mean SNP.

I don't think wealthy people would leave Scotland but I can see others moving to be a part of the EU again.
I'll never forget the vacuum cleaners guy who rallied for Brexit and then packed up and moved to Singapore...!
I thought Scotland was set up to do most things by itself? So it shouldn't be a problem to cut ties. They already have an independent NHS, education system, parliament, football team!...

No, Bank of Scotland is part of Lloyds Banking Group.

Do you think I think passports are printed on a laserjet in a back office?

It was you that's obsessed with Scottish passport printers not me. Its not the printing of the passport that's the real issue. There are tons of counterfeiting outfits that can do those. It's all the infrastructure behind the info required to issue a passport that Scotland hasn't got.

Poor and vulnerable people won’t be better off if there are no higher earners to pay taxes.

Studies show that in the short to medium term independence would mean a massive financial hit for the country. I see no compelling reason to take that hit.

Scotland already has its own Govt with powers and responsibilities, inc some tax rising ones.

Passports are printed in France/Poland - no office printer required.

If the Brexit referendum can be done with the only requirement being a majority of one, then thats the precedent for all future referendums OR we accept Brexit was actually done in error and rejoin?

Had Brexit not been driven forward and voted for by plenty against Scotish independence on here, then Scotland would have no grounds for another vote, they were promised EU membership would continue if they voted to remain, they were lied too and under the rules of the 'vote, can and should be given another vote.

This whole issue is as a result of Boris Johnson and his lust for power at all costs (plus all the idiots who believed his lies) NI will leave the Union before Scotland though.

@FourTeaFallOut it would a kick in the teeth after all her years of service and it is her favourite place after all. Hopefully they would let her see out her final days there.

We would also need a central bank , how the fuck would the current incumbents set that up? They can’t manage a ferry contract.

I agree with you, we are a mixed family DH is “ foreign “ , I’m Scottish & child born here.
I don’t trust the SNP / Greens with my rights as a woman, and the future of my child & family.
SNP/ Greens are incompetent, ridiculous dictators; corrupt, lazy, & riddled with frankly weird ideas imho.
Im embarrassed & sad about the way country , which was once is cradle of the enlightenment, is being used by those with dubious agendas.

Is that you Nicola?

And Scotland has its own legal system, education system, and parliament.
It already has a lot of infrastructure in place.

And these are the criteria to join the EU. Not what was posted upthread. The EU has already said they would welcome an application from Scotland.
ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/enlargement-policy/conditions-membership_en

I voted no last time. This time I will vote yes. Scotland really has nothing to lose. The UK economy is tanking and economically life is going to get a lot worse for all the rich. I want to try a different way.

They already have an independent NHS, education system, parliament, football team!...

If you're basing independent Scotlands future success on their football team, it's probably going to need more help than even god can give. 😁

It’s a nice idea that a new way will solve the issues but it’ll have a further detrimental impact

I'm a bit bemused at all these references to 'wealthy Scots' - if you're a taxpayer, that will be you. Less than half the Scottish population pay tax (age and poverty) and there are only about 8 percent who pay higher rate tax - and a goodly proportion of these work for the state! I have not seen any evidence of where the money is coming from to make up the huge deficit in public finances if we are to lose the current tax base support that comes from being part of the U.K. common sense must tell us that tax rates will rise steeply for all who pay tax (including businesses) to stay somewhere close to where we are at the moment in terms of public services- those saying they won't mind paying more for better services are in my view delusional. It will take big increases to stay where we are!

Doesn’t the SNP keep having to be bailed out by Westminster to the tune of billions because of financial mismanagement?

Im also baffled by the fact that the SNP significantly base their post independence finances on “Scottish” oil but also have a policy to move towards sustainable power sources.

The EU has already said they would welcome an application from Scotland.

They welcomed an application from Turkey in 1987. I wonder how that process is going. 🤔

I'm with you, @DogInATent

Fully believe Scotland could thrive as an independent country.

No confidence at all that the SNP could manage either the transition or a successful economy post referendum. And I don't see much talent elsewhere in Holyrood.

And agree, it doesn't have to be SNP but it's likely it will be. Much as I like many of Alba's policies, the candidates they put up (with few exceptions) fail to inspire.

There's a lot more civil administrative infrastructure in place in Scotland than some people on this thread think. And there's a lot less involved in setting up the missing bits than they believe.

I'm an ex-pat Scot living in England, and the irony is that a Scottish passport of a newly Independent Scotland that rejoined the EU is almost as likely to mean me moving to another EU country as it is back to Scotland. But it would very likely mean me leaving England within 5 years. If I knew how things were going to turn out after 2016 I'd have left 5 years ago.

The EU has already said they would welcome an application from Scotland

How long is this application for membership likely to take? And on what terms?

Am I right in thinking that Scotland university students do not have loans or grants and that it is free education, would they be able to continue this if broke away for the UK ????

@MarshaBradyo I think at this stage Scotland has nothing to lose.
Either Scotland accepts things are going to continue getting a lot worse for nearly all of its population as Brexit means soaring food prices, utility bills and more and more businesses closing. Or it votes yes and tries a new way.

Why would you just accept what is coming? Scotland has a chance to focus on improving the Scottish economy and life for people by voting yes. Not just accepting things are going to get a lot worse over the next few years.

So many shops and businesses have already closed. More will close. Do we just sit back and let this continue to happen because of the English scaremongering?

If you’re a wealthy Scot
You probably spend a lot of time down south enjoying your wealth

@Twins3007 Scotland funds free university education for Scottish students themselves. English students would continue to pay.

It’s like Brexit again project fear etc

People thinking it will improve the situation, but it’ll go the other way