Finance Secretary John Swinney was among the speakers at the event, Fiscal Issues in Scotland: Lessons From Home and Abroad, which was organised by the Centre for Public Policy for Regions (CPPR).

Professors from the Universities of Strathclyde, Edinburgh and Glasgow were joined by independent economic experts and a European Commission economist to analyse the way

Forward in a range of financial spheres, including tax, economic statistics and the funding of local authorities.

Professor Julia Darby, of Strathclyde and CPPR, spoke on the implications for Scotland and the UK Treasury of  macroeconomic stability and fiscal decentralisation. Her talk explored the possible impact of moving more responsibility for public spending from central government might affect and analysed the experiences of 14 countries.

It concluded that moving from council tax to local income tax in Scotland would replace a relatively stable revenue source with one which would be more difficult to predict and measures to avoid adverse effects would have to be considered.

Issues on fiscal decentralisation in Scotland were explored further by Professor Brian Ashcroft of Strathclyde and CPPR, while two other Strathclyde and CPPR Professors, Peter McGregor and Kim Swales, examined the economic consequences of tax changes for the Scottish Economy.

The Burt Report, commissioned by the previous Scottish Executive and published last year, assessed various options for local taxation and recommended the introduction of a property-based tax. The current Scottish Government aims to introduce a local income tax, based on ability to pay.