Scotland's 12,000 Beef farmers would face having to pay VAT on the sale of cattle, if Scotland was to separate from the United Kingdom. Currently the UK enjoys a VAT exemption from the European Union on the Supply of Live Animals for Human Consumption, something an Independent Scotland would not automatically be entitled to. The European Commission confirmed earlier in the year that any new member state of the European Union would have to apply a minimum of 15 per cent VAT to all goods, with one or two areas receiving a special rate of five per cent. Scotland's Beef sector was valued at around £650 million in 2013, meaning farmers and the farming industry would have a potential £97.5 million bill in an Independent Scotland. The White Paper on Independence makes no mention of exploring a VAT reduction for Scotland's farming industry.

Conservative MEP Ian Duncan commented

'Scottish farmers  have a hard enough job as it is without extra costs. The UK has worked hard for decades to secure VAT exemptions, and farmers will be rightly worried about the risks of separation and what it could mean for their livelihoods. This is yet another risk which the SNP don't want to talk about'.