NICOLA Sturgeon has hit back at Andrew Marr for suggesting Scotland can’t afford to be independent. 

On his BBC show, Marr said Scotland’s finances are “effectively subsidised by English taxpayers” and that this would end if the country became independent.  

“Is that a price worth paying?” he asked the First Minister. 

Sturgeon hit back: “I don’t accept that characterisation. Scotland pays its taxes in the same way that people in England pay their taxes. What you call the fiscal transfer funded largely by borrowing by the UK Government right now, because the Scottish Government doesn’t have powers to borrow."

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Marr interrupted to say Scotland receives £1671 or 17% more per person by the UK average and its tax revenues are £308 lower per person.

Sturgeon went on: "If you're pointing to the fiscal position that Scotland has right now, that is a feature of Westminster policies. It's not a reflection of independence. Why should a country like Scotland be in a position of requiring to be subsidised? It's not an argument for staying the same, it's an argument for change." 

Currently, the Scottish Government runs a modest annual budget surplus. It is forbidden by the devolution settlement to spend more than it receives from the Treasury or raises in taxation. 

The notional Scottish deficit after independence cannot be calculated beforehand because it will depend entirely on the deal agreed between Holyrood and Westminster. 

Asked by Marr if Scotland would hold a referendum if the by Spring next year, based on predictions, the pandemic was over, Sturgeon said: "That would certainly work for timescale of within the first half of the parliamentary term, but I very much, not just for reasons of an independence referendum, but for many reasons, I desperately hope those predictions are correct. 

"But we have to judge that as we go through this year, we’ve still got many significant challenges ahead."

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Asked if the legislation would be put through the Scottish parliament in that scenario, Sturgeon said: "I wouldn’t rule that out, equally I’m not sitting here right now and saying that that is the timescale. The people of Scotland reelected me as First Minister with the first task of continuing to see us through the pandemic, getting us into recovery.

"Then of course there’s the question of what kind of recovery do we want, what kind of country are we rebuilding to and that comes in to sharp focus, where do decisions lie? I’m not sure the recovery that Boris Johnson envisages is one that a majority of people in Scotland would support."