Should Scotland be an independent country?

? More half-baked, passive aggressive stereotyping.

And I might not piss on you if you were on fire, but likewise, I wouldn't go to the effort of bruising my knuckles on your account either.

smileyface.jpg

Re: jobs/currency/percentage of GDP of finance compared to oil-why does Switzerland, a country with its own currency, a population of 7 million, and no natural resources or comparable industry to Scotland, have no problem being a financial capital? Why is it that they can operate throughout the world with no problem? Why is it, out of the whole EU, they are the only people to legally limit bankers bonuses and pursue an end to bonus culture?

As you asked some questions there I thought I'd try and answer them.

Their currency is pegged to the Euro, they had to implement this to stop people choosing it as a safe haven. They have for some time been considering negative interest rates.

Switzerland as a financial capital? Well strictly speaking it's history is more as a safe haven for assets that you want to keep away from your home countries taxation. They are not a financial capital in the way that London or New York are. Simply put they deal more with stores of money than company stocks and derivatives. Their financial services also include highly paid tax lawyers who specialise in international tax law etc. Partly it is their history of storing wealth and creaming some of the top that has made them rich. They are risk averse and don't gamble on derivatives of sub prime debt, they just make sure that you don't have to keep your money under the mattress. One advantage they have is proximity to other European nations, if you need to literally carry money/wealth across borders to France, Italy, Germany it's easier to get across those borders.

They operate throughout the world without problem because they have looked after their clients money and remained stable. They allow trade across their borders and stay out of political disputes. They have to remain flexible, when Europe tells them to make the banking system more transparent they reluctantly do it, but only once they have informed their clients of the impending changes and the lawyers have set to finding new ways to protect the assets from the local governments.

They limit Bankers bonuses because they are risk averse. They do not want to encourage Bankers to risk the real assets they hold, they prefer ring fencing savings and lending through triple A bonds. But they have the real assets of their customers to play with and we will probably never know how much they hold in assets because their banking sector has always been very secretive.

p.s. Income from the swiss watch industry totalled around £15 Billion last year.

I'd assumed you would try to use your forehead. =:|

Christ, this is worse than the ISIS thread.

Scottish independence anecdote: I once hacked down Jim Murphy in a football game off Caledonian road and got a red card for my troubles.

@uber_gruber I'm sure it is just your passion for the issues, but you are getting very close to suggesting that supporting No is illegitimate. I think there are legitimate and respectable arguments on both sides of the debate.

terrible lack of imagination, airhead

surely he would be more likely to cleft you in twain with a claymore than butt you?

one can hope

In addition, I wouldn't bother wasting time arguing with @Airhead as comments like this clearly mark him out as a trollololol

I'm pretty anti Scottish anyhow based on my limited experience of them

*cleave, ffs cleave.

@uber_gruber - Switzerland isn't part of the EU, which you seemed to suggest earlier, as it would impact their neutrality.

It's funny that the Swiss enjoy this economic and political stability under a system of direct democracy that curtails the pernicious short-termist self interest of the elite and a feudal land system of ownership that's hardly changed since medieval times...

Not EU but EEA

More like cleft, as in 'airhead, he of the cleft arsehole'

They're also armed to the fucking teeth and, allegedly, mainly bonkers.

Note: I have never been to Switzerland, but have you seen their clocks?

I have never been to Switzerland, but have you seen their cocks?

Only Spartacus' through Lycra, and I'm not sure how representative he is.

Did it hurtle toward you, bellowing "CUCKOO!"?

They are armed to the teeth, but as part of their ongoing national service, but crime levels are very, very low as the Swiss are very, very law abiding. They are also incredibly insular which makes living there very dull.

Nice allen keys, mind

The 'billions' being removed from the Scottish economy: clear misunderstanding of how corporation tax works. Moving a registered office to London does nothing for the tax liability of the company for the economic activity taking place inside Scotland. i.e fuck all difference. It's like saying NatWest opening a call center in India means the UK loses out on the fucking profit. The RBS has itself rubbished any notion of moving business out of Scotland, LLoyds is already based in London, plus ca change.

I thought the likes of Google and Amazon basing their European operations in Ireland was because the location actually makes fucking lots of difference to their tax liabilities?

Nobody's views get represented well by Westminster (except all the rich cunts who are mates with the other shower of cunts who work there), so if Scotland has an opportunity to decouple governmental control from a centralised location that doesn't work for anyone, then Scotland would be madder than a bucket of pangolins not to take that opportunity.

There's no suggestion that a 20 foot high wall will be built around the Scottish coastline and a series of forts armed with snipers ready to stop the English Menace from invading over land. If decentralising government is parochial, well, I've got to say I'm all for it, and I hope other parts of the UK follow suit.

Edit: Oh, I'm many thousands of ranty posts behind. Good work, you lot. I hope this fascinating debate has distracted you from arguing over the Highway Code for a few hours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmAKnchI3ek&sns=tw

Google and Amazon basing their European operations in Ireland was because the location actually makes fucking lots of difference to their tax liabilities?

Yes, specifically corporation tax, which is lower in Ireland than it is in many other European countries, but there is also a problem with the US corporation tax which has a big effect on the choices of tax jurisdiction for nominally 'American' companies.

HQ relocation for banks from Scotland to England after independence isn't a tax matter, it's one of having the HQ under the regulatory control of the population which forms the majority of the bank's customer base.

^Well if Scotland does 'do one', I will never buy shortbread again.
And that level of pettiness will help me through the next 60 years of tory rule in England.

I've been to the RBS campus for meetings, there's not (I submit) a fucking chance they'll move that, all the people etc, however I suspect they'll move their HQ of record to Bishopsgate a pico-second after the Yes vote comes home.