Sunday, 2 February 2014

London is ruining Britain

I am qualified as a Chartered Secretary. The very nature of the job means that company secretaries tend to be employed in head offices.

The ICSA operates throughout the UK and abroad. I've done an analysis of UK jobs advertised in our latest journal. With Scotland having around 9% of the UK population one might think that the percentage of jobs up here would reflect that. Most months there are Scottish jobs advertised but there are none at all this month.

So what about the rest of the "provinces"? Here's what I found.

Jobs in Northern Ireland: 0%

In Wales: 0%

In the Northwest of England: 0%

In Yorkshire and Humberside: 0%

In the Southwest of England: 0%

In the Northeast of England: 1%

In the East Midlands: 1%

In the East of England: 1%

In the West Midlands: 6%

In the Home Counties: 22%

In London: 69%

So, 91% of these well-paid head office jobs are in London and its outer suburbs. Market forces say our southern friends. We're just so much more entrepreneurial than the rest of you. I don't believe that for a moment.

Surely the huge centralisation of the UK state apparatus leads to private companies needing to base themselves in the Southeast. Fortunately we in Scotland have a way out.

5 comments:

Colin Finlay said...

Ireland needs company secretaries due to the high number of US companies re - incorporating in the Republic where the corporate tax rate is , I believe, 12.5%.

Even though many of the former US companies still maintain operational HQs in America, the Irish legal domicile factor would doubtless require the company secretary to be based at the firm's registered office.

Tyco International , formerly a New Jersey headquartered conglomerate, currently based in Switzerland, is about to relocate to Ireland after shareholders approve the proposed move.

Sorry for the roundabout way of implying that, upon independence, Scotland should match the corporate tax rate of Ireland.

David Farrer said...

Agreed.

Or even less than Ireland...

Colin Finlay said...


If Scotland becomes independent the taxation of dividends should be altered to the more sensible formula of income tax rate (e.g. 40%) minus corporate tax rate (e.g. 22%), shareholders having already been taxed via their membership of the company whose shares they own.

Over the medium term a flat - rate tax on income at a low, Hong Kong type rate would benefit all.

Anonymous said...

The official position of this site is to vote Yes?

Colin Finlay: "If Scotland becomes independent the taxation of dividends.. "

Is that really likely to come about if the SNP end up the perennial governing party?

Unknown said...

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