Posted on 07/11/2014 3:02:31 PM PDT by Lorianne
Dwindling revenue from North Sea oil will increase the pressure on government finances over the coming decades, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR has cut its estimate of tax income from the North Sea between 2020 and 2041 by a quarter, to £40bn.
The fall is down to lower production forecasts over the next few years.
But its assessment was dismissed as "stuff and nonsense" by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.
The Scottish government has argued that the OBR figures are based on a "very low estimate of future total production", which resulted in them being more pessimistic than other estimates, including those produced by industry body Oil and Gas UK.
The OBR was created by George Osborne in 2010 in one of his first acts as chancellor to provide independent economic forecasts and analysis of the UK's public finances.
Its latest fiscal sustainability report predicted that UK government debt will peak in 2015-16, a year earlier than expected, at 78.7% of GDP.
This is 6.9 percentage points lower than previously forecast.
The latest figures also showed total debt at £1.273bn, or 76.1% of GDP. This is the equivalent of £48,200 per household.
The OBR warned that governments will have to raise taxes or implement further spending cuts in the coming decades, mainly because, as life expectancy grows, the cost of health, social care and the state pension will increase.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Woman, children and minorities hardest hit. May produce global warming. Will result in the illegalization of abortions. We’re ALL GOING TO DIE!
Sounds like England is low-balling the estimates in order to discourage voting for Scottish independence, since an independent Scotland would be dependent on the oil.
If it does discourage independence, good. The pro-independence people are loony leftists who want among things even more immigration. So while they claim to be for Scotland, their own policies would destroy the Scotch as a people.
The Scottish politicians are all a bunch of socialists who think they can pay for independence with this oil money. It won’t be there - this field is aging. But socialists always think the money will roll in to pay for their schemes.
That would the Scottish or the Scots, to the best of my knowledge there are no Scotch people.
distillers?
So I use "Scotch" at every opportunity.
(No double meaning intended!)
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