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 190 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.”