The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has said the Smith commission proposals must be carefully evaluated and only introduced if they are fair to both Scotland and the rest of the UK.

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Craig Vickery, head of ACCA Scotland, said: "The closeness of the referendum vote made it clear to Westminster that the momentum for further devolution continues to build, and the Smith Commission proposals are the next step in delivering this.

"My concern is that politicians will choose the proposals they like or are easiest to implement rather than looking at the package as a whole and how the individual parts affect both Scotland and the rest of the UK."

He added: "The proposal for the full devolution of income tax is likely be of interest to most people, and with support from both Westminster and Holyrood looks likely to happen.

"I would caution against setting a timetable too quickly on this however; both HMRC and Revenue Scotland need to be given as much time as they need to put the processes in place, rather than it being rushed through to meet public expectation of change sooner rather than later."