LONDON | By UBS Global Research | While there has been considerable attention paid to the impact of an independent Scotland on British government debt ratios, the debate about independence has paid very little attention to Scotland’s starting debt. If an independent Scotland were to take a per capita share of gross debt, it would have a debt burden of around 88% of GDP (after the migration of part of Scotland’s financial sector). Scotland’s initial deficit and the set-up costs for the new state would need to be added to this number.