SHORS Taxes:

We live in a world of abundance, but that abundance has been cornered by a tiny number who now try (and succeed) to convince the rest of us that there is scarcity and we must endure austerity - while they continue to line their pockets at our expense. In 2011, the latest figures we have for Shetland, after paying all direct and indirect taxes and getting back the grants and subsidies we need to run the economy, there was £82 million per year left in the UK treasury. Orkney will be similar. That’s £82 million from each to spend on illegal wars, bailing out delinquent (privately owned) banks, high speed rail, MP’s expenses and the like. We could have exactly the same standard of living and still have an extra £164 million in the bank every year (and don’t forget, these are 2011 figures - it’s probably a lot more by now) - or we could do any number of things to make improvements - or we could slash taxes. It will be up to us.

None of this takes into account the oil. Before the price dropped, there was about £50 billion (that’s fifty thousand million) worth of oil going through Sullom Voe every year. At 20% tax, that’s £10 billion per year for the UK treasury. The UK government does not dispute our claim that Shetland and the surrounding seabed belongs to the sovereign people of Shetland. That revenue belongs to Shetland and has been stolen from us since extraction started. Shetland has been subsidising the UK handsomely for years. However, we would be extremely silly to grab it all for ourselves. A better plan would be for it to go into a Shetland/Orkney bank and then distributed as foreign aid to the UK - or to whoever else we want. Anyone who says Shetland and Orkney could not stand on their own financially is talking absolute nonsense.

The Sovereign Nation of Shetland has no party political or religious affiliations.