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9am Lowdown: PwC gets Oscars reprieve

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30th Mar 2017
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Good morning. This morning’s lowdown features PwC keeping its Oscars, and the government will publish later today the Great Repeal Bill.  

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And the accounting firm overseeing the Oscars goes to…

PwC has retained its Oscar duties despite the best picture blunder which saw La La Land mistakenly announced as the winner.

After the biggest fiasco in Oscar history, PwC accountants will be banned from using mobile devices backstage. Brian Cullinan, the PwC accountant at the centre of the blunder, was caught posting pictures of the award winners on Twitter before the best picture presenter Warren Beatty was handed the wrong envelope.

According to the Telegraph, the Academy’s president Cherly Boone Isaacs said in a letter to the members that mobile phones are banned backstage. The PwC team backstage at the award bash will now increase to three accountants, with the third sitting in the control room with the ceremony’s director.

Ms Boone Isaacs said: "From the night of the ceremony through today, PwC has taken full responsibility for the mistake.

"After a thorough review, including an extensive presentation of revised protocols and ambitious controls, the board has decided to continue working with PwC."

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Government to publish Great Repeal Bill

The government plans to incorporate thousands of EU law into UK legislation, details of which will be published later today in the Great Repeal Bill.  

As reported by the BBC, the publication comes after Theresa May invoked Article 50 and formally started the Brexit proceedings. The prime minister called the process a “historic moment from which there can be no turning back”.

Upon receiving the Prime Minister’s letter, EU council president Donald Tusk said it was not “a happy day for him” and told the UK “we already miss you”. The European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator said he would not accept any attempt to "bargain" between trade and security.

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Landlords prepare for the “most significant change” in decades

The CIOT advised landlords not to make any “knee jerk moves” in response to “one the most significant changes to the buy-to-let market in decades”.

From April, landlords will be restricted in the tax relief they get for mortgage interest to the basic rate of income tax. The CIOT explains that change means finance costs such as mortgage interest will no longer be able to be deducted in full to work out taxable property profits.

Brian Slater, chair of CIOT’s property taxes sub-committee, said: “A decision to sell properties may be tempting for those that are highly geared, meaning they are carrying a lot of debt from perhaps buying many properties or a couple of expensive ones and can no longer benefit from the relief.

“Helpfully the change is being phased in over four tax years, so that the full effect of the restriction will not be felt until tax year 2020/21. This will give landlords extra time to consider their options.

 

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