This time last year, I wrote a blog about what I’d learned in the previous year. It was a very useful exercise from both a personal and business point of view and writing the blog helped me to come into 2016 feeling much more focused than in previous years. This year, it’s about 2017 and living in interesting times.
So how about 2017? Well, if I’ve learned anything in 2016, it’s just how little we can predict the future. How many of us could have imagined finishing this year with Brexit happening in Europe and so much other stuff around the world. I suspect that for many of us, the new year brings uncertainty about the future. And the government’s reluctance to say anything about “Brexit” really isn’t helping any of us.
Getting used to uncertainty
But one very personal anniversary gives me a helpful perspective on things. My father was born on 16 October, 2016, so would have been 100 in 2016 had he still been alive. He was named after his uncle who was killed in the fields of northern France in 1916. He was a wonderful father and I was blessed to have him in my life.
I mention this because as I get older, I’m gaining a new perspective and respect for our parents’ generation and their parents. When I was in my teens and 20s, my main concerns were passing exams, getting a decent job and buying a home. My parents and their parents spent their young years fighting in destructive and worldwide wars. The older I get the more I appreciate that the World Wars were recent events for them, not history. They grew up with uncertainty and got through it.
Of course, the prospect of Brexit will be unnerving for the younger generations. They’ve grown up with the UK in the EC and have never known what it’s like to be outside of the EC.
The point is that none of us knows what will happen in the future. Our parents and their parents had no more idea about what would happen in their world and their lives were a lot more difficult than ours – going to a war and being killed is a lot more difficult than uncertainty about the property market or job market or even the country’s political and economic future. I hope and pray that we never have to go to war again, but one thing is certain – we have to get used to the concept of uncertainty and learn to live with it. Personally, I’ve always been a curious person so I find the concept quite exhilarating if a bit nerve-wracking!
When it comes to VAT, I will be surprised if there are any significant changes to the UK rules. Of course HMRC is always reviewing certain issues, so there will be some developments in law and in practice. But regardless of Brexit, the important factor is that VAT is both an efficient and very cost-effective way of collecting tax revenue for the government.
Getting published!
Going with the uncertainty theme, sometimes things happen that you don’t expect. In the past few days, I’ve been asked to write for both “Taxation” and “Financial Accountant” publications. Any such exposure in the professional world is great for any small business owner, so of course I’m pleased to start the new year off with a boost for my business.
Like any business owner, I know what I’m hoping to achieve in the next 12 months, but adding the unexpected into the mix always makes life more interesting. So either way, whether or not you’re a fan of the unexpected, I hope that you’ll have an interesting and successful year ahead!
Marie
January, 2017