BUSINESSES are bracing themselves for the fallout of US president Donald Trump’s impending tax reforms, which could damage a trading relationship that is worth £4 billion to the Scottish economy, a leading tax expert has warned.
In the run up to the presidential election last year, Mr Trump said he would radically overhaul the tax system in the country to favour homegrown businesses in a bid to stimulate economic growth. House Speaker Paul Ryan said this week that the administration is moving “full speed ahead” towards “transformational tax reform”, but so far it has given little detail on what that would entail.
Vishal Chopra, head of tax in Scotland at Grant Thornton, said this is creating increasing uncertainty for Scotland’s exporters and international businesses and could ultimately harm the trading relationship between the two countries.
“President Trump took office on a pledge to adopt protectionist economic policies while also radically overhauling the tax system,” Mr Chopra said. “Since his first day in the White House, Scotland’s global businesses have been thirsty for clarity on what that means in practice. To date, that much-needed additional information has largely failed to materialise.
“Naturally, a reformed, more modern and transparent tax system would be good news for investors, but there’s a real fear that policies designed to put ‘America First’ could disadvantage Scotland’s export market.
“Excluding the rest of the UK, the US is Scotland’s number one export market, netting £4 billion for our economy. In a time of increasing political and economic uncertainty, we need reassurance and clarity to avoid long-term damage to Scotland’s trading relationship with a key partner.”
He added that while Mr Trump has said the reforms would include territorial exemptions for offshore income and a one-time tax on un-repatriated earnings, details remain scant.
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