insideKENT Magazine Issue 63 - June 2017 | Page 188
BUSINESSNEWS
LOCAL BUSINESSMAN PAVES THE WAY TO
SUCCESS WITH AWARD NOMINATION
GETTING THE BEST FROM BREXIT
Kent companies must make their views known if the county and country
are to make the best of Brexit. That was the conclusion of a seminar
jointly hosted by Kent’s leading law firm, Cripps, and Canterbury Christ
Church University.
The event saw the unveiling of a draft report being prepared by the
university’s Centre for European Studies (CEFEUS), which draws on
research commissioned by Cripps alongside data from the University
of Kent and insights from HSBC.
Cripps managing partner Gavin Tyler said: “Although the reality of
Brexit remains too uncertain for it to have significantly impacted on
business planning, we are surprised that the majority of businesses
have not yet started reviewing business strategies and mapping out
alternative post-Brexit scenarios.”
Cripps and Canterbury Christ Church University will continue to work
together closely to understand how Brexit will affect the regional business
community. To contribute to the Kent and Medway: Making a Success
of Brexit report, contact Dr Amelia Hadfield at CEFEUS
at [email protected].
Local businessman, Neil Collis, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the
Microbusiness Franchisee of the Year category at the British Franchise
Association (bfa) HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards 2017.
As the owner of an Ed’s Garden Maintenance franchise in Sevenoaks,
Neil provides a range of garden maintenance services including mowing,
hedges, turfing and patio cleaning for the local area.
Neil commented: “My business has been going from strength to strength
in the past year and we have been chalking up a number of milestones
and successes. However, when I heard that we’re a bfa Franchisee of
the Year finalist, I was stunned. It really made me step back and think
just how far we have come.”
Pip Wilkins, CEO at the bfa said, “With so many inspirational stories
from our members’ franchisees, it’s always a tough task to narrow it
down to our 15 finalists. These outstanding business owners have so
many different reasons for taking control of their business lives, and to
hear the diversity in these stories is always so empowering. All of our
finalists this year are an excellent example of how the franchisor’s
collaborative approach, combined with the go-getting attitude of the
franchisee, generates success at both individual and network levels.”
WELCOME NEWS FOR SMALL BUSINESS AS ‘MAKING TAX DIGITAL’ IS PUT ON HOLD.
The Treasury has dropped more than half of
the clauses from the Finance Bill, removing
72 of the 136 clauses in an attempt to hasten
the Bill’s progress through Parliament before
dissolution ahead of the General Election.
One of these 72 ‘dumped’ clauses is ‘Making
Tax Digital'. Many in the business and
accountancy worlds have welcomed this.
Nick Paterno, managing partner at McBrides
Chartered Accountants in Sidcup said: “This
is welcome news for business, especially small
business who would have had to have borne a
huge administrative burden with their tax
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affairs if ‘Making Tax Digital’ had gone ahead
this year. The plan was controversial and many
of us in the accountancy profession believe
it hadn’t been properly worked through and
needed fuller consultation and Parliamentary
debate.”
Another measure removed included the
planned cut to the annual tax-free allowance
on dividend income (which had only been
introduced by the Conservatives a year
ago) from £5,000 to £2,000. That will please
many company owners and private investors
alike assuming the measure is not
reintroduced by a subsequent government
before the planned date of the reduction of 6
April 2018.
It’s unclear yet whether the Conservative party
will include the dropped changes from the
Finance Bill in their manifesto.
Nick Paterno added: “We hope that any future
government will give a wider consultation to
the idea of making tax digital and will consult
fully with business to understand the costly
administrative burden of introducing multiple
return dates.”