Search: financial focus

Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán Scottish Power expects to pay a £150 million carbon tax bill this year, prompting Spanish owner Iberdrola to complain about the tax's impact on fuel prices.

The Royal Bank of Scotland is facing a massive $13 billion (£8.3bn) penalty after the US government demanded the cash to settle claims that the Edinburgh-based lender deceived purchasers of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) prior to its £45 billion taxpayer bailout. The UK taxpayer still owns 79pc

Ed Molyneux Scottish cloud accounting provider FreeAgent has launched a £1 million crowdfunding drive to accelerate its vision of "Democratising Accounting" for UK micro-businesses and freelancers.

Katherine Garret-Cox Alliance Trust chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox has claimed that her £1.3m wage is only questioned by her critics because she is a woman.

The next two years could see Britain’s biggest banks hit with up to another £19 billion of charges relating to past misconduct, according to Standard & Poor’s (S&P). In a new report, the ratings agency said Britain’s banks and customer-owned lenders had incurred £48 billion in miscon

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has reported gross mortgage lending reached £16.5 billion in March - a 12 per cent decrease from the last three months of 2014, and a 3 per cent decrease on the first quarter of 2014. The figure was 21 per cent higher than February (£13.6 billion), and 7 per cent hi

Aileen Scott The UK is inhibiting its economy with a tax burden 18 per cent heavier than the global average, and should consider setting a specific target for overall tax take, according to Scottish accountancy firm Campbell Dallas.

By John Ewart, Director and Investment Manager, Aubrey Capital Management Rising incomes, digital identity and mobile finance are changing who wins in emerging market banking, writes John Ewart of Aubrey Capital Management.

More than £87 million was paid in tax on the largest full pension withdrawals in just six months, according to new figures.

ACCA's chief executive Helen Brand has written to the Prime Minister welcoming the government's commitment to a 10-year plan and is calling for it to include a clear, long-term vision for tax reform. Drawing on its research, the accountancy body argues that a tax system built on simplicity is essent

Wealth management experts are reporting a rise in enquiries from investors in Scotland worried about a cut in valuable tax relief typically used to plan for later life.

The UK government has, over the past year, taken a notably more deliberate approach to mobilising private capital and philanthropy for social good, writes Mark McKeown. From a Scottish perspective, however, it exposes a familiar fault line in UK policy. Devolution means that, in its current form, th

With pensions being brought into estates in a year’s time, savers are being warned not to stop or reduce their contributions to "the best way of building long-term wealth" just to avoid a potential inheritance tax bill. New figures from Murphy Wealth suggest that contributing to a pension coul

Edinburgh’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the least confident of Scotland’s major cities as business viability concerns remain high nationwide, according to new research from Aberdein Considine LLP.  Capturing the views of Scottish SMEs in the run-up to the Holyrood

Royal Bank of Scotland-owner NatWest Group has appointed Kevin Havelock as mid-market champion for Scotland. The appointment comes as the group has appointed a total of 12 mid-market champions across UK nations and regions, part of its "growing together" plan to drive UK wide growth by supporting re