Independent Scotland would be able to prevent bank crises

Economics Professor Andrew Hughes Hallet of St Andrews University has pointed out that bank bail-out costs are typically divided on the basis of where they do most of their business rather than where their headquarters is based.

So even if Scotland had been independent when RBS was at risk due to its American acquisitions, the UK Government and US Federal Reserve would still have provided 90 per cent of the bail-out funds as the 90 per cent of the bank's operations were in the US and UK, not Scotland. Scotland would only have provided 10 per cent of any bail-out. He has said there is a precedent for this with the sharing out of bail-out costs of the Fortis and Dexia banks between the French, Belgian and Dutch governments.

Taxes on operations in Scotland would still be paid to the Scottish Government. RBS has said that "RBS intends to retain a significant level of its operations and employment in Scotland to support its customers there and the activities of the whole Bank".

If banks moved their headquarters to England it would at least reduce the potential bill to Scottish taxpayers if they went under again.

And if an independent Scotland regulated its banks the way the Norwegians and Canadians did, it could avoid future banking crises, as they avoided the last one.

Duncan McFarlane,

Beanshields,

Braidwood,

Carluke.

FIGURES and promises from the No camp do not add up.

Gordon Brown has offered a timetable for implementing the Calman proposals already enacted, but these come nowhere near the powers to vary taxation - taxation in general, such as a free country has - for which Scots voted nearly two to one on the second question of the 1997 referendum.

Gordon Brown was Chancellor when they decided to ignore the vote of the Scottish people, and Ed Miliband, Ed Balls, and Alistair Darling all served under him, so they are all complicit in this deliberate refusal to deliver.

In the UK books we are charged a share of costs which should not be ours, which we do not need, which we could do better ourselves, or which are grossly over-priced.

For example, London projects like Crossrail are named UK projects so that we can be charged for them. We do not need the politically-appointed House of Lords with almost 800 members. Only a small minority of the Lords do anything useful, and if we want a revising chamber it would probably amount to a couple of dozen people selected for special knowledge and experience. This could be paid for from what we save be not having MPs at Westminster.

If we move an office in a retained department, whose costs we already pay, from London to Scotland we will stop paying inflated London costs. Instead we will lease an office in Scotland, and pay salaries at various levels to staff living locally. The office's procurement and the tax paid by the office and staff will go to the Scottish Treasury, not the UK.

Some UK figures are based on accounts of what Westminster pays, but many are just percentages of the UK figure, and some are wild guesses.

The Royal United Services Institute (which believes in replacing Trident) nonetheless said in a recent report that the cost of removing Trident submarines from the Clyde would be up to £3.5 billion, a substantial sum, but nowhere near what it said the No camp was quoting, at £25bn. Discrepancies on this scale cast doubt on all No campaign guesstimates.

John Smart,

38A Kinneddar Street, Lossiemouth.

CLARITY is what is needed. The prospect of financial institutions going south is to Scotland's advantage, but it is presented as a threat. Westminster gets 100 per cent of the tax paid on their profits. Only 10 per cent is liable to come back to Scotland. When they " leave" but still have employees and buildings in Scotland all employee tax comes to Holyrood. This will more than offset any deficit, but the threat is that we must vote no. With our resources and talent of our population we will be the laughing stock of the world if we reject this wonderful opportunity to become independent.

Eric Martin,

16 Thomson Grove, Currie.

A NUMBER of banks and business have put contingency plans in place for dealing with a Yes vote. I imagine that a fair number of Scottish Labour MPs will have done the same.

Tom O'Neill,

26 Westcliff, Dumbarton.

A RESPONSE to those supermarkets who are trying to intimidate voters in the referendum: if their prices increase in the event of a Yes vote, shop at Tesco or any other supermarket not involved in this fiasco. I think the prices of the others will soon come down.

William Nugent,

2 Athole Gardens,

Glasgow.

As would-be graduates or school leavers approach the ballot box next week, let them reflect on their job prospects in the brave new world.

As someone who went south 35 years ago, I recall being made very welcome in England and was given many great opportunities to enhance my chosen career which I know I would not have got in Scotland. Do we really think the reception will be the same, post any vote for independence?

Alex Salmond's response would be: "There will be more opportunities in a prosperous Scotland". But he would be wrong, because the vast majority of population and employers are located in England and you are in real danger of lessening the chances of young people in a challenging job market.

Mandy Drew,

22 Bank Street,

Irvine.

THE Yes campaign?

If it's too good to be true; it is. Don't buy it.

Peter Wands,

42 Station Road,

Dollar.

In 2011 the Institute for Economic Affairs highlighted the causes behind the United Kingdom's national deficit of £4.8 trillion; now it is more than £5 trillion. Since devolution was granted to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Central Government expenditure, contribution to the Scottish Economy has remained at around 6 per cent to ensure that education, the health service, police authority, social services, environment agency and highways department continue to be operational.

Should Scotland choose to become independent on September 18 the electorate must be aware that they, not the central Government of the United Kingdom, will have to cover the costs of the aforementioned services.

The assumption that financial support is guaranteed must desist; frankly they will be cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Lord Clifford of Chudleigh,

Ugbrooke Park,

Chudleigh,

Devon.