True: The annual budget allocated to Scotland is more than the taxes paid by Scottish taxpayers.

By: Ganashree N A
March 5 2021

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In 2019-20, the Scottish government spent at least £15 billion more than it raised in taxes. According to analysis from the BBC, the Scottish budget usually is somewhere in the region of £30bn. For 2019-20, the figure sat at just under £34 bn. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the figure is expected to be significantly higher for this year. An extra £8.6 bn has been added to the budget since February 2020, though the exact total figure is unknown. Data from the House of Commons estimates that total public spending in Scotland was £81 bn in 2019-2020, while Scottish government statistics show that it spent £15.1 bn more than it raised in tax. According to the BBC, analysts said that this included funds for the pandemic and noted that this could be higher next year. There are estimated to be 4.5 million adults in Scotland in 2019-20, and 2.5 million adults pay income tax. The remaining 2 million adults, or 44.6 percent of all Scottish adults, will not pay income tax or fall under the taxpayers' category as they will earn less than the personal allowance. In 2020-21, the Scottish Government chose not to increase the higher rate thresholds in line with the rest of the U.K. They announced no change to income tax rates and remained the same, with starter, basic and intermediate bands increasing at the same rate as inflation. HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) estimates that the Government took at least £11 million in tax revenue in 2019. However, it is important to note that income tax is not the full picture of spending in Scotland. The Scottish Government does not have control over all taxes; the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland 2020-21 report outlines that only 35 percent of taxation collected in Scotland is under the control of Holyrood, and the remaining 65 percent goes to the UK parliament.