Business revamp

As CHANCELLOR George Osborne contemplates increasing personal allowances and cutting the 50 per cent tax rate in the Budget his week (your report, 17 March), Scotland’s beleaguered industry will hope that these measures will finally turnaround the economy.

In addition to tax reform, we urgently need to change the perception of business. The current impression is of a nightmare of employment and accounting bureaucracy combined with key performance indicators and a complex tax system. And with the stories of fat cat salaries and excessive executive bonuses, maybe we need to return to the somewhat old- fashioned principles of reputation and integrity to counteract the negative image of business to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

As a Conservative, I believe – rather controversially – that the leading business organisations such as the CBI should spend less time criticising government policy and commenting on referendums and more time addressing the negative image of business that currently dominates. The CBI and other business organisations, such as the Federation of Small Business, are great forces for good so, regardless of what Mr Osborne decides in his Budget, we must us all work to improve the image of business as our future prosperity depends on it.

Brian Pope

Beechgrove

Lockerbie, Dumfries & Galloway