What if Scotland Votes Yes?

[Bex]

I work for a UK company with offices all over the country. I'm in the central accounts office in Birmingham, we have an office in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. If Scotland vote yes the VAT implications alone make my head fizz.

But I'm sure we'll overcome whatever the decision. I just hope it's no.

Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[pigletwillie]

For the first time in a generation ordinary people, not big corporations or politicians, will be able to decide on democratic change. The staggering bias of the media especially the BBC against the yes campaign shows how vested interests and the establishment still want to pull the strings. Large lumps of the european union are of a similar size to Scotland or smaller and they do ok without Scotlands access to oil, wave, wind and hydro capabilities or indeed is 25% of europes fish stocks.

Nothing will change overnight, its an 18 month process if the Scots democratically vote yes and I am damn sure the likes of the spanish will not cut their noses off and their access to Scotlands fish by keeping them out of the EU. The EU is scared because it doesnt want the likes of Catalonia or the Basques getting themselves independence, rest assured Scotland will be ushered into the EU by some quick entry programme as it meets the criteria for membership already by being part of the UK.

There is lots of scaremongering and rediculous supperstitions being touted few of which are based on facts. Scotland is Englands biggest trading partner and vice versa, big corporations will ensure that things transition easily as nothing speaks lounder than money and profit to them. As for Scotlands rapberry canes and potatoes coming into England, do you really, credibly think that will stop for one minute?

[pigletwillie]

I work for a UK company with offices all over the country. I'm in the central accounts office in Birmingham, we have an office in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. If Scotland vote yes the VAT implications alone make my head fizz.

But I'm sure we'll overcome whatever the decision. I just hope it's no.


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

As no changes have been suggested to VAT at this moment how is it a problem?

[Bex]

I work in property. Like Southern Ireland scotland won't be part of the uk so it will depend where property is whether uk vat is charged. Plus Scotland will set their own vat rate. From a work point of view it will be a nightmare.

Even if they keep the same vat rate it won't be Uk vat so will have to be treated differently.

I'm a small cog in a large machine. It's just my opinion. Despite my scot surname, I'm not a scot. I just hope Scotland makes the decision that is right for them.


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[Kristen]

rest assured Scotland will be ushered into the EU by some quick entry programme as it meets the criteria for membership already by being part of the UK.

But surely the Scots don't want that? Obtain independence from England one day, and then form a union with the EU and Brussels the next?

As no changes have been suggested to VAT at this moment how is it a problem?

There are two issues as I see it:

1. My VAT office (maybe all of England's too??) is in Scotland. That will have to move to England. Huge upheaval and cost.

2. If Scotland becomes a different country then they have to be treated like a foreigner with regard to VAT. Within Europe there are lots of different rules - for some countries if a company tells you what their VAT Number is you don't charge them VAT, and you account for the VAT under a different heading (presumably just for the Office Of National Statistics benefit). In other countries if you do more than £XXX of business you are considered to need a local office in order to avoid charging people in that country VAT [or some complexity like that, I bump into it rather than having to actually account for it].

There there is the likes of the Channel Islands where small value items are VAT free on import - so Amazon et al flaunt the law by sending CDs from there to enable their customers not to pay VAT on those items ...

For foreign companies outside the EU you just plain don't charge VAT.

If selling to individuals in the EU you still charge VAT

I can see there being a whole raft of brand new complexity invented just for Scotland, post-union, and business will have to absorb the cost of the admin, and having all their account software modified

[Strawberry patch]

I work in property. Like Southern Ireland scotland won't be part of the uk so it will depend where property is whether uk vat is charged. Plus Scotland will set their own vat rate. From a work point of view it will be a nightmare.

Even if they keep the same vat rate it won't be Uk vat so will have to be treated differently.

I'm a small cog in a large machine. It's just my opinion. Despite my scot surname, I'm not a scot. I just hope Scotland makes the decision that is right for them.


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

Totally agree with you Bex...If scotland votes YES..It will have its own VAT rate..Lets just hope Scotland votes NO so we can be one big happy family

[rary]

1. My VAT office (maybe all of England's too??) is in Scotland. That will have to move to England. Huge upheaval and cost.

Kristen I don't see any problem with this just look at all the big companies that have moved out of Scotland over the past years they didn't have any problems

[Thelma Sanders]

But it's England that will bear the cost of moving it back to the UK, so more cuts required here, or higher taxes, to pay for it

Likewise the big companies would have raised prices to cover the cost of the move.

It's not just Scotland that is affected by the changes, if it's a yes vote.

[Bex]

Kristen I don't see any problem with this just look at all the big companies that have moved out of Scotland over the past years they didn't have any problems

Surely big companies moving out of Scotland is a problem in itself.


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[Bex]

But it's England that will bear the cost of moving it back to the UK, so more cuts required here, or higher taxes, to pay for it

Likewise the big companies would have raised prices to cover the cost of the move.

It's not just Scotland that is affected by the changes, if it's a yes vote.

My point exactly Thelma. We would all have to absorb the cost.


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[Nicos]

And the voting has closed....and so we wait.....

[Greenleaves]

What was, was...what is, is....what will be, will be. Nothing we can do to change it. More importantly people are being allowed to exercise their democratic right to choose.

[bearded bloke]

Indeed ^^^, I shall close this thread now in anticipation of a new thread on the morrow talking about the outcome of today's voting.

Thank you all for another very interesting discussion