The world has changed in the last two months and, I believe, in some ways for the better. Here are my predictions for the implications for your industry:
The end of subbies
This will happen for a variety of reasons, not least it is much easier to ‘furlough’ an employee. When we do come out the other side then the government will have to raise taxes. The chancellor has even stated that he is going to look again at the self-employed. Before COVID-19 was even heard of, HMRC had subbies in their sights and we were hearing about a sharp increase in companies being hit with ‘your subbies are employees’.
VAT threshold abolished
This has been discussed here before and most people seemed in favour of it. It would create a level playing field which must be a good thing?? It helps raise much needed revenue for the government and I feel sure this will happen and there will be VAT on all services.
The end of cash
Clearly viruses can be spread via cash and even my local shop only takes card payment. Throughout the world the use of cash is decreasing and in many ways Europe is behind things. Mark Zuckerberg even went to Kenya to learn more about the future of mobile phone payments. I am certain that cash is a thing of the past and that fits in well with the need to raise tax and the demise of the VAT threshold.
Trees are the future
The death and misery caused by COVID-19 cannot be put into words. However a lot of people seem to think that this is karma for the way we have treated the planet. Without any doubt everybody is a lot more conscious of the world we live in. Apparently in the last 100 years we have cut down half the world’s trees. That trend is going to be reversed with even the likes of the National Trust joining in the planting spree. The desire to look after the world will become a political priority and that has to be good for everybody particularly those working in Arboriculture or Forestry.
Optimism
Whilst we should all be concerned about the here and now, the world will emerge a better place. There are enormous challenges ahead but I genuinely feel that these will create opportunities for those who are ready to meet the challenge. Remember it’s not the fittest that survive but those who evolve the quickest.
