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9am Lowdown
9am Lowdown

9am Lowdown: Community reacts to Brexit

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24th Jun 2016
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What a day.  Britain has voted to leave the EU. The Prime Minister resigns. And the country is left wondering what’s next.

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Community reacts to Brexit

Throughout the EU referendum campaign, the AccountingWEB community has been divided - and this division has continued after this morning's vote to leave the EU. 

On Any Answers, each side of the discussion has voiced either their despair or jubilation, depending on which side of the European fence they sit.

Aweb member MBK rejected fears of economic crisis, predicting the markets to be “back where they were in a couple of weeks”. 

Doubting the result will have any real implications on the profession, Lionofludesch said: “We'll keep VAT, maybe zero-rate all the reduced rate things (which we wanted to zero rate but the EU said no) and do deals about stuff like VAT-MOSS and reverse charges.”

However, Tax writer Rebecca Cave predicts the EU referendum fallout to be a “fine mess” which could cause “the break-up the UK, and possibly the EU”. While mabzden ponders what will happen next to the tax and accounting profession, wondering whether the FRC will “dump” the new accounting standards.

What implications does vote leave hold for the profession. Join the conversation on Any Answers.

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Profession reacts to Brexit

The Brexit result will likely result in an emergency Budget within weeks to “calm the markets and lay out a clear roadmap”, according to AAT tax policy adviser Brian Palmer.

While nothing will happen overnight, Palmer believes we could see a change in the UK government’s stance on Base Erosion Profit shifting, and a leave vote means the UK wilkl no longer need to “seek European approval in respect of state aid or tax incentives such as enhanced capital allowances”.

Meanwhile, Kevin Nicholson, head of tax at PwC says a leave vote now gives the UK greater freedom to set its own VAT rules. “This could lead to more items becoming zero rated which may positively impact consumers and business. Or we may see changes that could be less positive for business but which may increase tax revenues for the government.”

As for how Brexit affects taxation, Nicholson said: “In the short-term, uncertainty on future tax rules will create challenges for businesses as they plan ahead. Great care will be needed to prevent unintended consequences as legislation from Brussels is removed. Longer term, there will be fewer layers of legislation, which should simplify the tax system for businesses large and small.”  

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Video of the day

At Accountex, AccountingWEB spoke with FreeAgent's Emily Coltman about getting involved with the Office of Tax Simplification.

 

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What’s new on AccountingWEB

Here’s a round-up of what's been happening on AccountingWEB

Replies (1)

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By mjshort
26th Jun 2016 14:18

Brexit or not- This new website is still a lot worse than the oginal.

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