Yearly Tax Drain from Scotland

From a 1964 article in the The Daily Telegraph: the Church of Scotland wants an explanation for the annual tax drain from Scotland.

Transscript

Church wants tax 'outflow' explained

Scots people should ask again to know more about their contribution to British revenue and the proportion of this taxation actually spent in Scotland, states the annual report of the Church and Nation Committee of the Church of Scotland.

The committee published to-day the second part of their report, which is to be presented to the General Assembly of the Kirk in Edinburgh next month.

No official reports on the subject have been published in recent years, the report notes, despite the Government undertaking that such reports would be published at regular intervals.

Last report

The most recent report to be published was a White Paper in 1952-53. In that year the revenue raised in Scotland was nearly £410 million, representing 9.23% of the total United Kingdom revenue of £4,439 million.

Of this amount £207 million was described as being spent on services in Scotland, such as health, housing, education, roads, forestry, food and agricultural subsidies, national insurance and assistance. The remainder, almost half of Scotland's revenue, went to what was described as "general expenditure".

With Government revenue increasing from £4,439 million in 1952-53 to £7,108 million (estimated) in 1963-64, it was reasonable to suppose that the net outflow of taxation from Scotland had also increased.

A yearly drain from Scotland of between 20% and 25% of the total revenue raised in the country could scarcely have failed to have some influence on the level of Scottish unemployment, double that of England, and also on the continuous stream of Scottish emigration. During the last 13 years 345,000 people had left Scotland.

Source

The Daily Telegraph, 1964