Scotland's deficit higher in first year of independence than UK's, says IFS

Holyrood would need to cut deal on lower level of debt, or raise taxes, or cut spending to bridge gap left by falling oil revenues Scotland's finances are expected to be worse than the UK's in its first year of independence because oil revenues are declining too far to meet Holyrood's higher public spending, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. New IFS analysis of the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) data shows that a sharp fall in oil revenues in 2012-13 left a gap betwee...