Have your say Tax doesn’t

Tax cut nightmare

It may just be me, but it seems PQ magazine seems to have got more ‘interested’ in tax in recent months. You had something on the plastic tax in the October issue, and you are also selling your Future of Tax seminar with Queen Mary University of London on the same page (page 4). I see you even have my old tax tutor, Neil da Costa, speaking at the event – he must have taught thousands of us…

The current government has shown just how important it is to understand tax! With PM Liz Truss being a qualified management accountant they may now have to look at upping their tax content, because she hasn’t got a scooby doo how it actually works. Yes, she has made cuts in personal tax to the tune of £20 billion, but the average household is going to be £1,500 worse off, says the IFS. Why? Because we have inflation, wages growth and a freeze on tax thresholds. That freeze will bring an extra £41 billion into the Exchequer at the very least!

I will see you on 26 October for your tax seminar, as I am keen to know how people think we are going to pay back all the money we have borrowed to cover the pandemic and the energy crisis. It will have to come from tax, surely. But we need to be creative in how we do it, so we don’t stifle entrepreneurship and growth.

Oh dear, I sound like Truss there, and creative taxation sounds too much like creative accounting! Gerald Robbins, by email

Our star letter writer wins a fantastic ‘I love PQ’ mug!

Have a lemonade

I was shocked by the story about the PwC employee who lost half their skull when they fell over following a boozy work night out (PQ, October ‘22).

But surely the firm isn’t totally to blame. The three-line whip of attending is something we all have to endure in the name of ‘team building’. How much you then drink is down to you. We are talking adults here, and people who have to manage other employees. You have to be stronger in these situations and leave your hedonistic student days behind! Name and email address supplied

Thanks, John

Can I take my hat off to Open Tuition’s John Moffat. Open Tuition is such an unsung resource for ACCA PQs. It is totally free and I don’t know how they do it. I think he should get a medal from the ACCA as he must have helped thousands of students become fully qualified. I know because I am one of those. The Open Tuition family is such a great place to study – it’s all about being on the journey together. I really don’t know what I would have done without them. Name and email address supplied CIMA confusion

Can I admit to being a bit confused about the new route to CIMA membership? Doesn’t the CGMA Finance Leadership Program mean CIMA is now in direct competition with its college suppliers? These are the same people who have ensured CIMA’s students have pushed on through to qualification despite the pandemic.

I am not sure they are going to be very happy. Name and email address supplied

Sage’s Chris Downing opened a can of worms when he put a picture of all the business cards he had collected recently. He asked: “Does anyone else wish to admit to owning a now useless (and potentially embarrassing) mountain of business cards?” He wondered if business cards were now a thing of the past and if there was still a need for them.

Mark Lee said that even prepandemic he wasn’t giving or receiving them as often as in the past. He has a very personalised card, which means he still encounters people who claim to have held onto one he gave them years ago. Maybe that’s an argument in favour!

Heather Elkington felt there was still space for cards in some form in the future, because searching LinkedIn profiles or writing down emails on a first meeting isn’t smooth, either.

Stuart Hurst said they are a waste of money and resources: “LinkedIn and WhatsApps deets swap all the way.” Tony Stevenson agreed and explained he had “binned um years ago, it’s almost a point of pride saying I don’t have one now”.

However, Sarah Douglas explained she still loves her cards, despite the fact that a lot of her contacts are digitally stored. “I like having the cards with notes for people I really do want to contact for the future,” she said. Douglas also explained that her card has her picture on and “so many people have said that really helps them to remember”.

Well, that’s it for the debate – now to get some new business cards! Or shall we?

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