I got the following from the ACCA today:

A new report, by John Hasseldine, Kevin Holland and Pernill van der Rijt, has been published as ACCA Research Report No. 112.

The report focuses on the process of the management of tax knowledge within companies. Taxation influences operating and financing decisions by the direct imposition of a tax charge and indirectly though associated compliance costs. However, effective tax-knowledge management can allow companies to reduce the adverse effects of taxation. This study of the process involved will be of direct relevance to tax payers, tax practitioners and policy makers.

You can read more about this and other ACCA research here or you can download the full report here.

Filed under: Academic research, Financial management, Institutes, Taxation with tags acca, john hasseldine, kevin holland, pernill van der rijt, Taxation
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There was more fascinating stuff on tonight's PM - this time an interview from Göran Persson, the architect of Sweden's recovery plan from the early 1990s. Sweden, you might recall, was in fairly choppy waters - a bursting asset bubble, mass unemployment, a currency crisis and a chronic budget deficit that couldn't be shrugged away. So the new government had to take very decisive action, which meant tax rises and public sector cuts aplenty.

Today, Sweden's economy and social model are seen as a triumph by commentators from both left and right. So their recent history is worth studying.

The best bit is when Persson warns the UK about trying any funny business:

Don't try any tricks, any book-keeping tricks, because the market is watching you.

You can hear the full interview here (as it's a BBC link, it may die after 23 February, so be quick).

Filed under: Financial management, Politics with tags deficit, goran persson, politicians, sweden
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Keats was, of course, writing about a bit of pottery. But these lines could have been written about the markets. Because there is an undeniable truth about the functioning of the markets too.

Seth Freedman gets it in his piece for Comment is Free entitled 'Don't blame the traders'. Traders and the market they trade in are the only participants in the world economy whom you can trust to always tell you the truth. Yes, I mean that. Markets are truthful, while politicians, companies, individuals, institutions are prone to lies (indeed, this list is probably in descending order of mendacity).

Let's pick on MPs for a minute. They love to talk about 'tough choices'. This is political doublespeak for dithering. It was obvious as far back as 2005 that something needed to be done about the UK economy. When Northern Rock folded, lots of action was needed to fix the UK's chronic deficit, yet we had lots of talk and no trousers. Even today, UK politicians haven't come up with a credible plan to fix our deficit. This is because, with an election looming, neither wants to give the other side second mover advantage.

It's the same with Greece. Their political leaders dithered, lied to the electorate, lied to the EU - in fact did almost everything other than sort out the car crash that was their economy. It was only the intervention of market traders shorting their bonds that finally forced the EU to do something.

People love to blame the market, red in tooth and claw, for ruining the lives of ordinary people. Yet who honestly believes that, had the market not beaten Greece up bigtime, Greece's leaders would have done anything? It's because the market acted that they reluctantly introduced their hated austerity budget. No doubt talking about 'tough choices' as they did so.

As for the title, a banker friend of mine has filled his boots with Greek debt. He thinks the EU is duty bound to bail Greece out, so it's easy money for him. Let the market decide.

Filed under: Current issues, Economics, Financial management, Politics with tags deficit, european union, greece, guardian, lies, politicians, seth freedman
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