Some Quick Questions.

[neilly71]

Seriously folks, why bite, youre wasting your time and energy. Use both for speaking to folk that actually are undecided.

[Jaggy Jim]

I would suggest that putting in place plans to move your registered office probably means you don't think it's a good idea. I could be wrong about that though as it's just my opinion

I work for Standard Life who have continually been mentioned by the media as a company who are questioning independence and considering moving from Scotland, and I'll be voting Yes. You have to realise this is all media spin. 90% of SL's customers are south of the border and have their policies denominated in sterling, so if an independent Scotland is not using sterling SL will be required to register some sterling denominated companies in rUK to deal with those customers. This doesn't mean the operations will move south and the board have confirmed this a number of times. The costs of moving a 5000 person operation are prohibitive. First you would need to find out who was willing to relocate and then cover their costs of doing so, then you have to pay redundancy costs to those who don't relocate and then you have to recruit replacements. No company is going to go through all that when they don't have to.

SL will still be paying Corporation Tax to a Scottish Treasury on the 10% of customers it does have here, which is roughly equivalent to what the Scottish Govt get s back from the UK Treasury now.

If you've been in Edinburgh recently you may have noticed a huge demolition site in St Andrews Square. This is a property bought by Standard Life Investments for one of its' Real Estate funds at a cost of £75m. It's going to be a mixture of retail and offices with penthouse flats on the top floor. Do you really think SL would be investing this sort of money if they thought Scotland was going to be a financial basket case?

[sbcmfc]

To print currency, you need to have a license, to have a license to print Scottish notes you have to be registered in Scotland (this is why when Halifax & BOS merged, they kept their registered office in Edinburgh). If the 3 institutions licensed to print money move to England, no-one will hold a license to print money.

I hope that explains it a bit

Yes, so it depends what currency we use, if we use the pound in a currency union or continue using the pound outwith a currency union, it doesn't really bother me who prints it or where.

If we start our own currency, I suppose they'd need to licence someone to print our money?

(I thought they made the money in Wales at the moment?)

[Glasgowmancity]

Not sure I can give definitive answers as much will be down to negotiation post-indy.

1) Banks generally don't actually print currency. A company called De La Rue is one of the world's biggest printers of currencies, cheques, bank drafts etc. Banks are licensed to operate banking services in a geographical area, not to print cash.

2) Don't forget that increased rates are good for some people (eg:savers). I'd imagine the BoE's monetary policy committee would 'weight' Scottish input to ensure that an interest rate balance is struck that serves both economies appropriately. Individuals and companies can hedge against interest rate movements.

3) Not sure what you're asking here but why not consider a fixed rate mortgate. Interest rates generally controll local economies. Exchange rates are far more complex in what affects them.

4) I've no idea on this.

5) A Scottish Treasury.

6) Again, negotiation but I can't answer that.

7) There would have to be some kind of common-sense approach. There will likely be a cut-off date between the application of one regime and the next one in the same way a govt can pass a budget measure that isn;t implemented until the following parliament session.

8) No idea. Sure there will be something on some of the big tax advisor website (PwC, Deloitte etc)

9) Hopefully not. Hopefully it will be a simplified flat-rate scheme (shown to encourage payment). Scotland's already said it would look to a simpler system of tax. You only need to look at Butterworths to see how unweildy the UK tax system is.

10) Because they will have cost and procedural changes to bear. It's not a case really of them saying indy is bad, more a case of how do we explain added costs to shareholders etc. It's a grunble rather than a complaint.

Not sure if you're self-employed or not but most of the self-employed people I know live with risk and uncertainty every day. Probably explains why I can find few self-employed people who aren't voting Yes.

Again cheers for the answers - I should possibly have said issue currency rather than print

I agree with your points about interest rates & also controlling local economies - this is my problem if our economies become very different then interest rates will be suited to rUK - that could really screw us over.

1 Eh?

2 We have no control over interest rates just now so it's the status quo.

3 We will use the £.

4 Scottish law will prevail, why wouldn't it?

5 The Scottish Government.

6 No idea.

7 From March 2016 you will pay tax to the Scottish Government.

8 No idea.

9 Probably.

10 They're not.

Cheers again for the answers

We are currently taken into consideration for interest rates, that will change come next week if we vote yes IMO.

[Glasgowmancity]

Yes, so it depends what currency we use, if we use the pound in a currency union or continue using the pound outwith a currency union, it doesn't really bother me who prints it or where.

If we start our own currency, I suppose they'd need to licence someone to print our money?

(I thought they made the money in Wales at the moment?)

As I've said above, I should probably have said issue rather than print

[mariokempes56]

We are currently taken into consideration for interest rates, that will change come next week if we vote yes IMO.

Em c'mon man. Interest rates are set to suit the majority at the moment.If we vote either way that'll be the same.

[Glasgowmancity]

I work for Standard Life who have continually been mentioned by the media as a company who are questioning independence and considering moving from Scotland, and I'll be voting Yes. You have to realise this is all media spin. 90% of SL's customers are south of the border and have their policies denominated in sterling, so if an independent Scotland is not using sterling SL will be required to register some sterling denominated companies in rUK to deal with those customers. This doesn't mean the operations will move south and the board have confirmed this a number of times. The costs of moving a 5000 person operation are prohibitive. First you would need to find out who was willing to relocate and then cover their costs of doing so, then you have to pay redundancy costs to those who don't relocate and then you have to recruit replacements. No company is going to go through all that when they don't have to.

SL will still be paying Corporation Tax to a Scottish Treasury on the 10% of customers it does have here, which is roughly equivalent to what the Scottish Govt get s back from the UK Treasury now.

If you've been in Edinburgh recently you may have noticed a huge demolition site in St Andrews Square. This is a property bought by Standard Life Investments for one of its' Real Estate funds at a cost of £75m. It's going to be a mixture of retail and offices with penthouse flats on the top floor. Do you really think SL would be investing this sort of money if they thought Scotland was going to be a financial basket case?

That's interesting about SL still buying & developing land here, cheers

[Glasgowmancity]

Em c'mon man. Interest rates are set to suit the majority at the moment.If we vote either way that'll be the same.

Do you believe that no thought is given to the Scottish part of the economy when rates are set just now?

[86glebestreet]

To print currency, you need to have a license, to have a license to print Scottish notes you have to be registered in Scotland (this is why when Halifax & BOS merged, they kept their registered office in Edinburgh). If the 3 institutions licensed to print money move to England, no-one will hold a license to print money.

I hope that explains it a bit

Ye don't need a license tae print money if ye live in possil

[mariokempes56]

Do you believe that no thought is given to the Scottish part of the economy when rates are set just now?

Yes.

[Glasgowmancity]

Yes.

Cool, I'll agree to disagree on that

[Glasgowmancity]

Ye don't need a license tae print money if ye live in possil

:lol:

[Wine bibber]

I work for Standard Life who have continually been mentioned by the media as a company who are questioning independence and considering moving from Scotland, and I'll be voting Yes. You have to realise this is all media spin. 90% of SL's customers are south of the border and have their policies denominated in sterling, so if an independent Scotland is not using sterling SL will be required to register some sterling denominated companies in rUK to deal with those customers. This doesn't mean the operations will move south and the board have confirmed this a number of times. The costs of moving a 5000 person operation are prohibitive. First you would need to find out who was willing to relocate and then cover their costs of doing so, then you have to pay redundancy costs to those who don't relocate and then you have to recruit replacements. No company is going to go through all that when they don't have to.

SL will still be paying Corporation Tax to a Scottish Treasury on the 10% of customers it does have here, which is roughly equivalent to what the Scottish Govt get s back from the UK Treasury now.

If you've been in Edinburgh recently you may have noticed a huge demolition site in St Andrews Square. This is a property bought by Standard Life Investments for one of its' Real Estate funds at a cost of £75m. It's going to be a mixture of retail and offices with penthouse flats on the top floor. Do you really think SL would be investing this sort of money if they thought Scotland was going to be a financial basket case?

Thanks for posting that JJ.It just goes to show that we can all be duped by the media .i was prepared to believe the 90 % figure as a reason to move,but you have highlighted the bigger picture from the true perspective.As ever it proves this part of Western Europe is a good place to continue to do business.

Nice one .All the best to you in the future

[Rossy]

Seriously folks, why bite, youre wasting your time and energy. Use both for speaking to folk that actually are undecided.

Absolutely.

The OP is a long time hater of the SNP, was probably opposed to devolution, and is pretending that there are 'technical reasons' for his no vote, when in fact if you gave him the answers he wanted to hear he would still be opposed to independence because he is simply a Unionist because of his upbringing/football team he supports etc.

It's a wasted effort. Use it on someone who is receptive and isn't taking the piss.

[Glasgowmancity]

Absolutely.

The OP is a long time hater of the SNP, was probably opposed to devolution, and is pretending that there are 'technical reasons' for his no vote, when in fact if you gave him the answers he wanted to hear he would still be opposed to independence because he is simply a Unionist because of his upbringing/football team he supports etc.

It's a wasted effort. Use it on someone who is receptive and isn't taking the piss.

Rossy - I suggest you ask some of the mutual friends we have about how many inaccuracies there are in that post - I'll give you a hint, it's quite a few

[adamntg]

What EU rules?

The EU rules that say a bank must have its registered office in the country where most of its customers are.

[Rossy]

Rossy - I suggest you ask some of the mutual friends we have about how many inaccuracies there are in that post - I'll give you a hint, it's quite a few

If there are, I apologise....honestly.

I obviously don't see every post made on here (really) and I simply remember your one's where you used to argue that Scottish independence would somehow be a bad thing for most of the country because power would lie in the central belt.....you believed that London rule was better for the regions rather than power being in Edinburgh.

I've always seen you as being opposed to independence, regardless.

If that's not the case, as I said, I apologise.

[Dalgety Bay TA]

I work for Standard Life who have continually been mentioned by the media as a company who are questioning independence and considering moving from Scotland, and I'll be voting Yes. You have to realise this is all media spin. 90% of SL's customers are south of the border and have their policies denominated in sterling, so if an independent Scotland is not using sterling SL will be required to register some sterling denominated companies in rUK to deal with those customers. This doesn't mean the operations will move south and the board have confirmed this a number of times. The costs of moving a 5000 person operation are prohibitive. First you would need to find out who was willing to relocate and then cover their costs of doing so, then you have to pay redundancy costs to those who don't relocate and then you have to recruit replacements. No company is going to go through all that when they don't have to.

SL will still be paying Corporation Tax to a Scottish Treasury on the 10% of customers it does have here, which is roughly equivalent to what the Scottish Govt get s back from the UK Treasury now.

If you've been in Edinburgh recently you may have noticed a huge demolition site in St Andrews Square. This is a property bought by Standard Life Investments for one of its' Real Estate funds at a cost of £75m. It's going to be a mixture of retail and offices with penthouse flats on the top floor. Do you really think SL would be investing this sort of money if they thought Scotland was going to be a financial basket case?

Spot on, saves me a lot of typing. And RBS will be the same. No way would they be ditching a custom built office at Gogarburn and x thousand staff in it to then try source, build, fit out offices of a similar size down south and then employ x thousand new staff to work in them, having lost all the knowledge and experience from their Scottish base. Anyone who works in a large organization like this knows how tricky it is changing any part of their operation staffing wise never mind wholesale staffing changes running into the thousands. Both companies will brass plaque into England if required while the vast majority of their operations will remain where they are. Some people also think that a company won't want to work in 2 different financial markets when the reality is that SL, RBS etc are global companies who already work with multiple markets, currencies, regulators worldwide. One more country/currency/regulator is not a problem for them.

[Glasgowmancity]

If there are, I apologise....honestly.

I obviously don't see every post made on here (really) and I simply remember your one's where you used to argue that Scottish independence would somehow be a bad thing for most of the country because power would lie in the central belt.....you believed that London rule was better for the regions rather than power being in Edinburgh.

I've always seen you as being opposed to independence, regardless.

If that's not the case, as I said, I apologise.

No bother at all, you are right I've always been against Independence. I don't hate the SNP though & think they by far do the best for Scotland within the Union. As for the region thing, what I meant was that it would be the same as far the regions were concerned, they still wouldn't get a say in who the government is.

IMO the risks of Independence outweigh the rewards, especially when I have to take into consideration my family & my staff.

The EU rules that say a bank must have its registered office in the country where most of its customers are.

Cheers - I never knew that.

[mariokempes56]

Cool, I'll agree to disagree on that

Do you seriously think they sit around their big shiny table and pay any more than mere token interest in the Economics of Scotland (or the NE for that matter) ? Its all about the SE as thats where the money is, where house prices are insane and growing by the hour. Thats not a particular complaint just a statement of the bleeding obvious.

[Glasgowmancity]

Do you seriously think they sit around their big shiny table and pay any more than mere token interest in the Economics of Scotland (or the NE for that matter) ? Its all about the SE as thats where the money is, where house prices are insane and growing by the hour. Thats not a particular complaint just a statement of the bleeding obvious.

Yes, I think they take at least some account of the economy nationwide

[Baz]

Just a point on the printing money.

Currently all euros are produced in Germany and distributed throughout the whole of Europe.

Can you explain why it would be a problem for scotland not to be able to print currency?

I don't care if the tenner in my pocket is from RBS or the Bank of England. It's all the same.

[Wine bibber]

No bother at all, you are right I've always been against Independence. I don't hate the SNP though & think they by far do the best for Scotland within the Union. As for the region thing, what I meant was that it would be the same as far the regions were concerned, they still wouldn't get a say in who the government is.

IMO the risks of Independence outweigh the rewards, especially when I have to take into consideration my family & my staff.

Cheers - I never knew that.

And how does the risk compare to the union that has embroiled itself in a spiraling debt with little means to settle its credit in full , motivated and fueled by greed lies and state propaganda.How would your family and staff react to another boom and bust cycle with the same people in charge .Each bust is going to be worse than the last.What about the 30 billion of cuts that have been promised by whatever UK government gets its hands on power.

what contingency plans have you and your family made for that ?

You sound like a businessman so this will make sense to you.What would you rather have Risk with the control to react to change or Risk where you can do nothing to change it.

If the business case means nothing to you surely you would wish for your family to wake up on Friday in a true democracy.I would ask you one thing, Just remember who you are swallow your pride and do the right thing.

Edited September 17, 2014 by Wine bibber

[Glasgowmancity]

You sound like a businessman so this will make sense to you.What would you rather have Risk with the control to react to change or Risk where you can do nothing to change it.

If the business case means nothing to you surely you would wish for your family to wake up on Friday in a true democracy.I would ask you one thing, Just remember who you are swallow your pride and do the right thing.

I would rather not wake up on Friday morning realising that I have lost £50k - £100k per year tbh. For a business of our size then that is a major issue that we need to consider.

[ShedTA]

I would rather not wake up on Friday morning realising that I have lost £50k - £100k per year tbh. For a business of our size then that is a major issue that we need to consider.

how will the result cause your company to lose money?