Business World: March 2021

Russell Bedford International has released the March edition of its biannual magazine, BUSINESS WORLD.

Business World delivers the latest views and analysis written by specialists from within the Russell Bedford network, together with guest authors from various other organisations from around the world.

Articles in the latest edition include:

New US president: possible tax changes for multinationals

As the dust settles on an unpleasant political season, the inauguration of Joe Biden as the new US president set in motion what many believe will be changes to tax law that could impact multinational corporations doing business in the US. With Mr Biden’s Democratic party maintaining its majority in the House of Representatives, and the opposing Republican party losing its majority in the Senate, there is a likelihood many of Mr Biden’s tax plans will become law. When that might happen, if it does, is another question. Steve Horn partner at Williams Benator & Libby, LLP, Russell Bedford’s Atlanta member firm, member of the board of directors at Russell Bedford shares his thoughts.

Brexit – the challenges facing business

A change as seismic as Brexit couldn’t possibly happen without causing some disruption and the late finalisation of the Brexit trade deal certainly didn’t help. One word sums up what is troubling businesses right now: uncertainty, caused by a new cross-border taxation environment, changes to tax law, and increased bureaucracy. Other potential impacts remain unclear, such as the effect on UK businesses of new immigration requirements.

Businesses are both unsure about what has already happened and what is yet to happen. Phil Moss, tax partner at Russell Bedford’s London member firm, Lubbock Fine, seeks the views of colleagues at Russell Bedford to get their take on the challenges ahead.

Cyprus – 2021 brings positive tax changes

Although a challenging year for everyone in business, 2020 did produce some positive tax developments in Cyprus, specifically the EU’s renewal of the Cyprus tonnage tax system (TTS) and the EU’s assessment of the Cyprus notional interest deduction (NID) as ‘not harmful’. Kyriakos Hadjikyriakou, senior tax manager at Intertaxaudit, Russell Bedford’s member firm in Nicosia, Cyprus, discusses the implications of the changes.

Support yourself – 5 ways to look after yourself as a leader

Leadership can be a lonely and difficult existence – not everyone understands your position or what you must go through. Especially during the pandemic.

In this article Michael Quigley, director at Kataholos, a professional training and coaching organisation, shares five techniques that will help you to take care of yourself and empower you to feel resilient, humble, open, and able to deal with whatever comes your way.

Is the UK still open for business?

With air corridors into the UK suspended (at the time of writing) because of Covid-19, and confusion at custom checkpoints, ports and docks resulting from Brexit changes, our international colleagues might be forgiven for thinking that the UK has given up on global trade and collaboration. Nothing could be further from the truth. Paul Heaven, director at Russell Bedford’s West Midlands, UK member, Jerroms, discusses the business opportunities available despite a turbulent few years.

Reactivating the payment chain post-Covid-19

Warren Buffet famously said, ‘Cash is to businesses what oxygen is to people”. Today, this encapsulates the concerns of SME owners feeling the effects of broken payment chains caused by restrictions introduced by governments to mitigate against Covid-19. While several governments have introduced financial support initiatives to soften the blow, in many cases these have failed to reach some businesses. Jesús Fernando De la Torre, corporate finance and international banking professional at Russell Bedford Perú, discusses asset-based loans as a potential solution.
 

How debt and equity contribute to healthy business growth

Debt, equity, and investment banking are not new concepts but balancing each of them throughout the business cycle is key to healthy business growth. Monitoring periodically how to optimise and leverage debt and equity in a business is critical to its success. Ken Segal, partner at Russell Bedford’s Boston, USA member firm shares advise from his 25 years’ experience of assisting businesses and their owners to maximise enterprise value, while minimising risk.

To read the latest edition of Business World in full, visit the Business World page of the Russell Bedford website HERE. Business World is also available from member firms of the global accounting network.