MINISTERS are to create an independent Scottish finance watchdog, equivalent to the Office for Budget Responsibility, it has emerged.
The new body will be up and running by 2015 and play a key role in the introduction of Holyrood's new tax powers, Finance Secretary John Swinney told MSPs.
The "Scottish OBR" will forecast revenues from the new Scottish rate of income tax and replacements for stamp duty and landfill tax.
It will operate separately from Government but its predictions will be politically sensitive as they will be used to challenge the cut to Scotland's annual block grant from Westminster, which will be imposed when Holyrood takes over responsibility for setting a portion of income tax.
Details of the move emerged as MSPs quizzed Mr Swinney on preparations to introduce the Scottish rate of income tax.
He also hinted the cost of bringing in and collecting the tax, which must be paid to HMRC by the Scottish Government, had risen from an original estimate of £40 million to £45m.
Mr Swinney told Holyrood's finance committee: "It is my view that Scotland will require an independent forecasting body that can provide independent assessment to both the government and the Parliament about what may be generated as a consequence of these taxes."
Earlier this year the Scottish Government con-troversially rejected OBR forecasts for North Sea oil revenues in favour of its own, more optimistic, estimates. Alex Salmond used the alternative predictions to declare Scotland was on the verge of a second oil boom.
The SNP's plan to create a Scottish version of the body met a mixed response from opposition parties.
Willie Rennie, the Scottish LibDem leader, accused Mr Swinney of "cooking the books and looking to appoint his own chef".
However, Scots Tory finance spokesman Gavin Brown said: "In theory the idea of an independent expert group scrutinising decisions made by the Scottish Government is a good one."
Labour's Michael McMahon, a member of the finance committee, said: "If a truly independent budgetary oversight body was set up for Scotland, at least we might not have Alex Salmond and Mike Russell telling us budgets are going up when they are actually going down."
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