LONDON: Residents of Scotland would be financially better off if they reject independence and opt to stay in the UK, the British government said on Wednesday amid competing claims by each side of the debate.

Chief Secretary to the Tre­a­sury Danny Alexander cla­im­ed that every man, child and woman would be £1,400 ($2,345) better off if voters opt for ‘no’ in the September 18 referendum.

Alexander argued that breaking the union would mean lower tax revenues in Scotland and increased public spending, in what he called the “UK dividend”.

But Scotland’s pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond said the UK Treasury’s claims had been “blown to smithereens” after academics claimed their data had been misinterpreted.

Alexander was speaking in Edinburgh after the UK Treasury published a report assessing the fiscal position of an independent Scotland over the period from 2016 to 2035-36.—AFP

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2014