SCOTLAND's army of small businesses is calling on Alex Salmond's Government to detail how independence will change key policies such as corporate taxation.
In its response to the Calman Commission, which is investigating the progress of Scottish devolution, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says the SNP must move the independence debate beyond macro economic 'for and against' arguments, and produ
ce detailed evidence on how it would change life for businesses in specific areas such as financial regulation.
It argues the Scottish business community has so far been unable to evaluate the merits of an independent Scotland due to the polarised, highly politicised nature of the debate.
It is calling on Salmond's Government to distill the arguments down to detailed policy proposals which will allow businesses to properly assess how independence would affect them and their ability to operate.
Andy Willox, the FSB's Scottish policy convener, says the Scottish business community – 98% of which is made up of firms with fewer than 50 employees – will need to contribute to the independence argument as it progresses, but it has been prevented from doing so because there is no evidence to suggest how businesses will be regulated, taxed and supported by a future Scottish Government.
"The debate has taken place at an intellectual, macro-economic level with little reference to specific proposals and how they would affect individual businesses," he writes in the response, released to Scotland on Sunday.
"As discussions on Scotland's future continue we would like to see more detail regarding threats and opportunities of individual powers and what this might mean for small business owners and their employees in Scotland."
He added: "We do believe the current heated, political nature of the discussion around Scotland's future could prevent organisations from engaging in a more meaningful way. Public comments tend to be seized upon and labelled as either 'for' or 'against', which is clearly unhelpful.
"This is not about lacking the courage of our convictions but living with the realities of the sensitive political climate in Scotland. A less polarised, more considered debate may enable civic Scotland to play its full role, thus broadening the range of contributions and increasing the depth and quality of the discussion."
Earlier this year, Finance Minister John Swinney gave the clearest hint yet of how the financial system would operate in the case of independence when he said remaining within the UK financial regulatory system was one of the options under consideration by the SNP.
The full article contains 418 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
