Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

This is a difficult climate in which to make VAT predictions. There are all sorts of things the Chancellor could do but as ever, all actions have consequences. Recent press reports have highlighted that the Government may be facing a reduction in the level of receipts from some taxes (including corporation tax and Stamp Duty Land Tax), as well as a difficult economic climate more generally.

The ongoing debate on the taxation of foreign profits has been conspicuous in its absence from the last PBR and Budget and it is currently looking as though the 2008 PBR will be no different with little more expected than a brief statement that the Government is continuing to consult with business.

John Barnes of Baker Tilly chartered accountants and Nicholas Cook of Wollastons Solicitors will be heading to Jiangsu Province in China later this month to brief Chinese firms and investors about investing in Essex, as part of Essex County Council’s Trade Mission.

Accountants Judith Coplowe and David Frost, who specialise in the charity sector at Chartered Accountants & Business Advisers Peters Elworthy & Moore (PEM), have been awarded the prestigious ICAEW Diploma in Charity Accounting.

According to figures released by the Insolvency Service, 27,488* people went into bankruptcy or entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in the quarter ended 30 September 2008, an increase of five percent compared to the same quarter in 2007.

The latest KPMG Business Outlook Survey, which surveys around 2,800 service sector firms across the EU, indicated a further slide in confidence amongst UK service providers. Latest data showed that only slightly more panellists expect a rise in activity over the next twelve months than expect a fall, while forecasts for revenues, sales, profits, capital expenditure and employment were all negative and at their lowest in the survey’s two-and-a-half year history.

Philip Davidson, Head of Restructuring at KPMG, working with businesses across the industry spectrum, comments on how the latest developments in the economy are affecting his clients:

Ian Corfield – Director of Restructuring for KPMG in East Anglia answers the questions that businesses want answering.