Scotland faces significantly higher borrowing costs than the rest of the UK – even before any move to independence, new analysis suggests.
The Tory-LibDem Coalition warned the findings showed that Scotland would have to pay even more if it left the UK.
Pro-union campaign group Better Together said the results were another example of the "potential cost of separation".
LibDem Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander has previously warned that borrowing costs would shoot up after independence. But expert responses to a Treasury consultation on proposals to allow Scottish ministers to issue bonds from 2015 shows a "majority believed bonds issued by the Scottish Government would translate into a cost of borrowing significantly above that of the UK Government".
Some cited the lack of a track record as one reason for their view and suggested this yield premium could fall over time as the Scottish Government established a track record.
A UK Government spokesman said: "Within the UK, Scotland benefits from the diversity of the UK's economic and tax base. An independent Scotland would have no track record of borrowing, a less diverse economy and a narrower revenue base."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Scotland's finances are consistently stronger than the UK's."
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