http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk en-gb begbieschettleagar.co.uk 2010-8-16T00:00:00Z begbieschettleagar.co.uk http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72953 2010-8-16 11:09:34 http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72785 13 August 2010 German economy sees record growth of 2.2 The German economy grew by 2.2 in the three months to the end of June its fastest quarterly growth in more than 20 years official figures show. Such quarteronquarter growth has never been recorded before in reunified Germany the national statistics office Destatis said. The main reason for the higherthanexpected growth was strong exports helped by a weaker euro. The eurozone economy grew by 1 during the quarter. This compares with growth of 0.2 in the first three months of the year the areas official statistics agency Eurostat said. 2010-8-13 16:13:41 http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72783 Tax changes may lead to rise in incorporations 13 August 2010 Increasing numbers of sole traders may switch to limited company status as a result of the tax rates announced in the emergency Budget. The Chancellor George Osborne has committed the government to reducing the small company rate of corporation tax from 21 per cent to 20 per cent as from next April. The cuts in large company corporation tax are even greater down from 28 per cent to 24 per cent over a period of four years. In contrast sole traders are set to see personal taxes rise. As from April 2010 the top rate of income tax rose to 50 per cent for those earning 163150000 a year while personal allowances will start to be lost when income hits 163100000 per annum and national insurance contributions are to rise by 1 per cent next year. The gap between corporation and personal taxes will be heightened by the fact that sole traders must pay income tax on their entire profits no matter whether the money is used for pe... 2010-8-13 16:10:29 http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72781 2010-8-13 16:07:58 http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72782 Companies unprepared for new green taxes 12 August 2010 Large numbers of UK firms appear to be unaware that they might be liable for green tax payments due to come into effect next month. The Carbon Reduction Commitment CRC means that firms of certain sizes must declare their energy use and face charges for every tonne of greenhouse gas they emit. Under the scheme businesses that consume more than 6000 megawatt hours of energy each year or the equivalent of a power bill of 163500000 must file their consumption by the end of September. As from April 2011 the affected firms need to purchase a permit for every tonne of carbon dioxide they produce. Any firm consuming 6000 megawatt hours of energy could be faced with a bill of 16338000. The purpose of the CRC programme is to promote the reduction of energy use though financial incentives. Companies that register the largest reductions will enjoy bonuses those that show the poorest records will be hit with penalties. It is estimated t... 2010-8-12 16:08:15 http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72786 11 August 2010 Bank of England forecasts choppy economic recovery Mervyn King It will take several years before fiscal positions return to anything like normal The UK economy faces a choppy recovery over the next two years the governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King has warned. His comments came as the Bank lowered its economic growth forecast and said inflation would stay higher for longer than previously forecast. The Bank now expects the economy to grow by less than 3 in 2011 down from its previous forecast of nearer 3.5. It added that a lack of bank lending would limit economic growth. It will take many years before bank balance sheets and fiscal positions return to anything like normal said Mr King. In the meantime they will act as headwinds to the recovery. Mr King also warned that following an unprecedented period the UK economy faced a difficult rebalancing away from private and public consumption and towards net exports and that this could also hit economic gro... 2010-8-11 16:15:30 http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72784 Pensions experts question inflation rate changes 10 August 2010 Pension industry experts have raised doubts about proposals to couple private pension increases with the consumer prices index of inflation. Occupational pensions have been traditionally linked to the retail prices index. However the government announced last month that private pension payments would where possible and as from early next year switch to the CPI as a way of calculating any increases. The CPI measure of inflation which does not take mortgage prices into account is usually lower than the RPI rate. The move is intended to reduce the deficit in final salary pension schemes by as much as 163100 billion over the years. But now an online pensions forum Mallowstreet has written to the government arguing that the change has been introduced too quickly and without a consultation of due length. Philip Read chairman of British Coal pension trustees described the retrospective legislation as a potential nightmar... 2010-8-10 16:12:16 http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72958 Interest rates held at 0.5 Interest rates have been kept on hold at 0.5 by the Bank of England meaning that rates will stay at their current record low for an 18th month. The Banks Monetary Policy Committee MPC also decided not to inject any more money into the economy under its policy of quantitative easing QE.The British Chamber of Commerce BCC has backed the decision.The MPC made the right decision by leaving interest rates and the quantitative easing programme unchanged this month. However uncertainty over future interest rate policy is damaging confidence. Businesses cannot properly plan for recovery without clear knowledge that rate rises will be off the agenda for an extended period said David Kern chief economist at the BCC.Global risks of an economic setback appear to be worsening so the welcome news that UK GDP strengthened in the second quarter of 2010 must not lead to complacency. While the eurozones problems remain unresolved there are now worrying signs of a s... 2010-8-5 11:42:16 http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72957 New system for business red tape The government has confirmed that it will introduce a new onein oneout system for any new business regulations in order to stem the burden of red tape on small businesses. The system will have to identify an existing piece of regulation to be removed for every new rule proposed and a panel of business experts will scrutinise all new legislation before it is introduced The system is due to be introduced on September 1 and has been designed to apply initially to domestic legislation affecting businesses and the third sector with ministers intending to expand the system in due course. We have to move quickly delivering credible and meaningful reductions in the burdens that hinder hardpressed businesses and charities. We have to create a commonsense approach in the way we think about new laws said Business Secretary Vince Cable. By ensuring regulation becomes a last resort we will create an environment that frees business from the burden of red... 2010-8-5 11:38:11 http://www.begbieschettleagar.co.uk/page22.htm#72769 VAT increase could be detrimental 23 July 2010 As many as one in three firms are worried that the planned increase in VAT could have an adverse effect on their business a new survey has claimed. A study of the reaction of 500 businesses to measures introduced in the emergency Budget carried out by YouGov research found that 30 per cent of respondents believe that the rise in VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent planned for January 2011 will have a detrimental impact. As a result 19 per cent of those expressing a concern intend to freeze or reduce employee pay. A similar proportion 31 per cent do not think that the Budgets national insurance announcement which will see the threshold at which employers start to pay NI climb by 16321 a week will encourage them to take on more staff. John Walker the national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses FSB said This research highlights the feelings of small firms about the potential problems they face come the New Year. For many... 2010-7-24 15:26:24