Is your business ready for Brexit?

[EdwinH]

More an FYI than anything else, but the Government has put out a 141-page "Partnership Pack" (their terminology, not mine) aimed at businesses, and explaining everything they know so far about what will change after a no-deal Brexit i.e. potentially as soon as 29 March 2019 at 11pm.

You can download the PP as a PDF from the link below:
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/776885/Partnership_pack_Feb_2019.pdf

There are several other documents that might also help if you're trying to figure out what's what. For instance, a step-by-step guide to what you will have to do to import goods from the EU after Brexit Day.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/776631/Step_guide_to_importing.pdf

There is also an equivalent guide for exports.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/776632/Step_guide_to_exporting.pdf

Those are the big ones, but there are a number of other documents included in the collection, which you can explore at the link below.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/partnership-pack-preparing-for-a-no-deal-eu-exit

From a pragmatic point of view, more certainty is probably better than less. But they make grim reading, as there's new red tape left, right and centre, and lots of things that will potentially cost businesses money (e.g. engaging professional advisors, customs specialists and the like). So you may wish to keep a stiff drink handy.

Anyway, hope this helps some of you.

DHs employer is setting up a small branch in an EU country probably Germany, Malta or Belgium. It's the only way they can continue to comply with regulations etc and service all existing clients. His boss says the cost of the advice he's already had, accountants, lawyers plus cost of set up will be well over £50,000.

Some of the business they place will therefore be accounted for and taxed in the long term as profit in the country they choose.

It fascinates me - this is just one smallish financial services business. Other companies must be all getting the same advice, hundreds of thousands of them, so business, profit and set up costs are literally haemorrhaging out of the U.K.

Yes. It's as if, in "Titanic", the passengers and crew had whiled away the last few hours before the fateful iceberg encounter by smashing holes in the ship...