Begbie calls for new government to be ‘creative’ – Daily Business

Sandy Begbie: we need a change of mindset (pic: DB Media Services)

Financial services leader Sandy Begbie has called on the new government to be creative with its powers in order to bring down the cost of doing business.

Mr Begbie, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise, said the levers at Holyrood’s disposal allowed for some cuts in taxes that would help grow the economy.

In an interview with Daily Business looking ahead to the new parliament, he calls for a change of mindset to tackle the downward pressures on businesses.

He notes that while high streets in Scotland were peppered with empty units, streets in overseas cities were thriving and full of shoppers.

“In places like Melbourne and Hong Kong there are no empty shops and the streets are bursting with people. Why? Because business rates are a fraction of what they are here, and retailers an pay their people more.”

He calls for new ways to scale up companies, including a range of measures used by devolved administrations overseas.

“We have this mindset that higher tax and regulation is the only solution to every problem. We don’t think creatively,” he says.

In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Begbie discusses the changing shape of financial services in Scotland, how it can beat rival centres, and why university funding is not sustainable.

Interview

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