Opinion

Martin Keenan, a cross-border VAT specialist with Azets in Scotland, has warned that the recent description of the problems faced by Scottish Seafood businesses trying to deliver their products to EU customers as “Teething problems” significantly understates the complex and challenging i

Neil Francis, interim managing director of Scottish Enterprise, looks ahead to the trade and investment environment in Scotland in 2021. The recent announcement of a further national lockdown due to COVID-19 was a difficult start to 2021 for many, including those involved in international trade and

According to a recent survey, post-Brexit Britain is considered a prime real estate proposition by investors, developers and asset managers from across Europe, China and the US. Notably, it ranked the UK highest for future residential property investment. The UK property sector reportedly attracts i

Neil Norman, head of entrepreneurial tax and senior tax partner at Chiene + Tait, discusses the issues surrounding potential changes to taxation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Murdoch MacLennan, a partner with Azets and a specialist in banking, is urging lenders to continue supporting businesses struggling with cash flow problems by extending for a further six-month term capital repayment holidays for debt that was arranged pre-COVID. Last March lenders moved swiftly to s

Jonathan Smith, an Aberdeen-based business coach and facilitator at The Alternative Board (TAB), provides advice on how to help managers in all business sectors in Scotland manage better. Countless managers have confided in me over the years that they find the supervisory element of their role chall

Sharon McDougall, part of Begbies Traynor's Scotland Debt Solutions Team, discusses how a personal debt crisis can be handled during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic has been a testing period for workers across the country as work reduces, income halts and employees are placed

Sharon McDougall, part of Begbies Traynor's Scotland Debt Solutions Team, discusses the outlook for businesses after the end of the furlough scheme. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) continues to provide a lifeline to millions of workers across the country during the coronavirus pandemic b

Ian McMonagle, tax specialist at Russell & Russell Business Advisers based in Glasgow, discusses why UK citizens living in Europe must act now to sort their tax affairs following changes in EU residency regulations. In an interconnected age, with ease and convenience of travel, many UK citizens

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