The Scottish Government will either have to axe certain areas of spending, signal higher levels of taxation, or hope for extra funding or borrowing powers from the UK Government, according to an assessment from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) ahead of tomorrow's Resource Spending Review.
Prioritising public spending is essential to grow a stronger economy, as Scotland recovers from the pandemic and faces up to the cost of living crisis, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has said.
The economic research organisation called the review "no easy task", as expensive policy commitments and relatively slow forecast growth in income tax receipts - not to mention the recent increase in inflation - mean that it is unlikely that revenues will keep pace with spending pressures.
