Opinion

Catherine Burnet, KPMG’s regional chair for Scotland, looks back at the challenges Scotland’s faced in the last year, and what lies ahead. In January 2020, none of us could have anticipated the overwhelming scale of economic and societal challenge that COVID-19 would create – it go

If there is one thing the pandemic has taught company founders, it is how an unexpected event can be catastrophic to a business. In good times, when things are going well and a business is growing, it’s natural to not want to dwell on negative, unexpected events that could instantly derail tha

Richard Dunbar, head of multi-asset research at Aberdeen Standard Investments, provides the company's 2021 outlook commentary. The prospect of a number of effective vaccines being rolled out through 2021 offers an ‘escape hatch’ out of the pandemic and its economic effects. This leaves u

Jenny Healy, director of accounts and audit, based in the Saffery Champness Edinburgh office and a member of the firm’s Landed Estates and Rural Business Group, discusses the growing pressure on the UK Government to introduce a new wealth tax. After a year of much needed support from the Chan

Neil Francis, interim managing director of Scottish Enterprise, outlines the support available to Scottish companies as the EU transition period comes to an end. The past year has been incredibly tough for businesses the length and breadth of Scotland.

Richard Douglas-Home looks at proposed changes to the capital gains tax regime. The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is an independent office of the Treasury, set up in 2010 to provide advice to the government on simplifying the UK tax system. It will produce reports either on its own initiative o

Mark Hallan, director of global investment at Scottish Enterprise, discusses why the financial services are key to attracting inward investment to Scotland. Scotland is an extraordinary proposition for global companies to invest in.

Fraser Campbell, head of family business with Azets, has suggested that Scotland’s businesses wanting to thank their staff in the traditional manner at Christmas should back their local hospitality enterprises by taking advantage of HMRC’s tax-free annual exemption of up to £200 fo

Betsy Williamson, managing director and founder of Edinburgh-based Core-Asset Consulting, discusses the impact of Brexit and COVID on recruitment in the Scottish financial services sector. Top talent is continuing to depart one of Scotland’s most influential sectors as confusion around th

Scotland has a thriving technology sector but there’s still a huge amount of untapped potential that could further elevate its success and bolster our economy. Women, who remain significantly underrepresented within the sector, have a major part to play in making this happen, writes Jackie War

Ian McMonagle, tax specialist at Russell & Russell Business Advisors, discusses the tax options for employers to consider when it comes to celebrating Christmas. While we still don’t know if Christmas is going to be officially cancelled, what we can be quite certain about is that there wil

Murdoch MacLennan, head of brewing and distilling with Azets, toasts the enduring success of Scotland’s Whisky industry. I am of course biased, however, despite the gloom of the T, B and the C words (Tariffs, Brexit and COVID), Scotland’s buoyant spirits sector has continued to attract s

Kevin Collie, senior paraplanner at Mearns and Company, discusses the DIY skills individuals may have learned throughout lockdown. It seems like only yesterday that we emerged from our lockdown bunkers ready to face the world again. Some of us were sporting once-in-a-lifetime lockdown tans and other

Stuart Clark, managing director at Glasgow-based Russell & Russell Business Advisers, discusses the complexities of the tax involved in using gift vouchers in the hospitality sector. For business people and their professional advisers, it is like trying to navigate a pathway on constantly shifti

Derek Money, head of sales at White Oak in Glasgow, says that now is the time for businesses in Scotland to take advantage of the coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and look towards growth in 2021. Scottish businesses have shown their true spirit during what has been the most chal