The incoming Scottish Government is facing an GBP800 million gaping chasm in Scotland's finances, with some of the country's leading experts warning that politicians failed to address the "reality" of public spending cuts in the election campaign.  SNP leader alex Salmond looks set to be returned as First Minister with an increased mandate, when the result of the fourth Scottish Parliament election is unveiled later today.  But the Nationalists, along with the other main parties, have been accused of holding a "competition" to match each other's spending commitments, while "avoiding the big issues" of the looming cutbacks.  One expert even warned that the new Scottish Government will not be able to afford measures such as the council tax freeze and subsidies to fund the renewable energy revolution - and that the scale of the cuts ahead could be worse than first feared.  The Nationalists insist their key priority will be to gain increased economic powers for Scotland to stimulate growth, but new figures indicate a looming financial black hole lies ahead. The cost of the council tax freeze is set to reach more than GBP535m by the final year of the next parliament, according to research by Professor David Bell, from Stirling University.  But the SNP manifesto indicates that a figure closer to GBP280m will be set aside to fund the freeze in council tax in 2015-16, leaving a shortfall of more than GBP250m. Writing in The Scotsman today, Prof Bell also raises questions over the kind of people at which the measure - backed by all the main parties in the election campaign - is targeted.  "The main beneficiaries from a council tax freeze are middle-income families," he writes.  "Poorer families' council tax is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions through council tax benefit."  He adds: "This is GBP535m that will have to be taken from other parts of the Scottish budget, or fudged in a way that will mean even larger cuts to local authority budgets." The SNP is committed to freezing the council tax throughout the five-year period of the new parliament, but all the main parties support the measure over the next two years.  The freeze was in place throughout the last parliament, when the Nationalists were in power.  Councils were given GBP70m a year to finance the measure - but faced additional cuts in their cash if they did not agree to it.  Prof Bell also warns increased student tuition fees in England will see the funding gap between Scottish and English universities reach around GBP300m.  Mr Salmond has pledged to fill any gap from the public purse, but these figures are far higher than originally expected, with initial Scottish Government estimates placing the gap at about GBP100m.  The controversial increase in fees south of the Border will see the average annual tuition fee for students reach a higher-than-expected GBP8,500.  Only the Tories have suggested some form of graduate contribution in Scotland, with Mr Salmond dramatically proclaiming that the "rocks will melt in the sun" before he allows fees to be introduced in Scotland.  However, Prof Bell adds: "Scottish politicians have spent much of this year's election campaign avoiding the big issues.  "In the last two years and over two elections, politicians have failed to allow public services to plan adequately, because of their wish not to commit to making cuts prior to an election.  "This has not served the UK and Scottish public well."  Economic output also fell 3.5 per cent over the course of the last parliament, the academic added.  "This is hardly a ringing endorsement of the ability of our politicians to produce an economy that is capable of supporting the wide range of public services which the Scottish people seem to want," he writes.  as polling closed last night, the SNP seemed set to increase the one-seat advantage it enjoyed over Labour in the last parliament.  Polling evidence placed the Nationalists between seven and 18 points ahead of Iain Gray's Labour Party, which could leave Mr Salmond's party with around 60 seats, while Labour would be left with around the 46 they had in the last parliament, or even fewer.  Mr Salmond has pledged to spare public sector workers from compulsory lay-offs, protect NHS funding and continue with universal benefits, such as free prescription charges.  Professor John McLaren, of Glasgow University's Centre for Public Policy for Regions (CPPR), and a former adviser to both Donald Dewar and Henry McLeish when they were first ministers, endorsed Prof Bell's figures. He said the election campaign was marked by a lack of discussion about "serious economic policy", as well as facing up to the "difficult" decisions stemming from a diminishing budget.  "Most of the parties have been concentrating on protecting budgets, rather than talking about the budgets that they will have to necessarily cut," Prof McLaren said. "Obviously, council tax and tuition fees are key areas in that discussion."  The biggest capital project in Scotland over the next generation is the new Forth road bridge which will cost GBP1.5 billion, but Prof McLaren warned that the money had been allocated from funding sources such as borrowing powers.  "If you borrow, you still have to pay the money back and pay interest, so it eats into what you can buy because you've got to make those increased payments back," he said.  "We've had a spending review, so we did have some figures to discuss in more detail, yet politicians have still delayed it.  "The difficult decisions have now got to be made after the election in private, whereas they haven't been outlined in the manifestos so that voters can have a clear choice on what parties are expecting to do."  Professor Brian ashcroft, of Strathclyde University's Fraser of allander