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9am Lowdown

9am Lowdown: TPR pursues Green over BHS pension deficit

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3rd Nov 2016
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Good morning and welcome to Thursday’s 9am Lowdown. This morning’s headlines bring news of what SMEs demand out of their accountant and HMRC releasing an educational video about tax for 8 to 11 year olds.

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Pension regulator pursues Green over BHS pension deficit

The Pension Regulator (TPR) has launched an enforcement action against to Sir Philip Green and Dominic Chappell after failing to receive a “sufficiently credible and comprehensive offer” to bail out the BHS pension scheme, reports the Guardian.

The TPR has issued a 300 page warning notice to Green and Chappell as it pursues a deal to fill the £571m deficit in the BHS pension scheme.

Lesley Titcomb, chief executive of TPR, said “Our decision to launch enforcement action is an important milestone in our work to attain redress for the thousands of members of BHS schemes who have been placed in this position through no fault of their own.

In response, Green said: “I have read the statement from the Pensions Regulator this evening and noted its contents. I have provided the regulator with what I believe to be a credible and substantial proposal, with evidence and bank confirmation of cash availability, which would prevent the scheme from entering the Pension Protection Fund. This is in order to achieve a better outcome for the BHS pensioners.”

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SMEs demand speed out of accountants

SMEs are demanding speed as a priority out of their accountant, as well as efficiency and productivity, Exact’s annual SME barometer research has found.

To combat this, accountants are turning to IT and software in order to meet these demands and stay competitive. The survey found 67% focusing on admin software integration and replacing replacing paper forms with online forms (62%), and improving home/mobile access (43%). The survey also discovered a drop in ‘spreadsheet accounting’ (25% in 2015, down to 20% this year).

The 2016 ‘SME Barometer Research’ surveys 2,500 professionals across Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the US.

“In the battle for differentiation, accountants that can keep the pace while adding extra value to their clients by providing real-time, in-depth business insight, have the best possible chance of prevailing,” said Gavin Fell, general manager of Exact Cloud Solutions in the UK. “As customers become ever more difficult to woo, it’s essential that accountants demonstrate how new technologies can have a dramatic impact on how they do business.”

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HMRC launches junior tax video

HMRC has introduced tax to 8-11 year olds in a video which explains why tax is essential to “them, their families, communities and society as a whole”.

The video transports the budding tax expert back to the caveman age to illustrate how difficult life would have been without teachers, doctors and police. The video charts the growing society and how tax is used to “make society work”. “You can think of tax as an absolutely enormous piggy bank that everyone pays a bit of money,” it explained.

The video also presents some “strange” taxes in the past, such as the Egyptian pharaohs introducing a tax on cooking oil and the 200 years ago tax on windows.

Discussing the video on Any Answers, AccountingWEB member Red Kite praised the video. “As a former school Governor and, being fair, it's actually not a bad start, as say part of a maths session.”

However Stelacca pointed out some omissions: “They forgot to mention MP's expenses so that they can keep their private duckponds clean or have two homes. They forgot to mention that everyone pays tax, except the big multinationals and friends of the government of the day, who may pay a token sum, but not what's due.”

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