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From the BBC (http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8365939.stm):

Festive sales will start early this year – including price cuts on Christmas Day – as VAT is set to rise, a retailing expert has said.

However, discounts will not be as generous as last Christmas, according to Don Williams, head of retail at accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward.

Debenhams started a £250m price cutting campaign with a four-day sale on Wednesday, six weeks before Christmas.

Many retailers are expected to promote cheaper prices before VAT rises.

The tax will revert to 17.5% on 1 January, having been cut to 15% in November 2008.

News from the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8358688.stm):

Newly established small firms should be given some form of tax exemption for their first year or two of business, a report has concluded.

The suggestion is one of 10 core findings in the study produced by the British Library’s Business & IP Centre.

It adds that a fast-track scheme should be created to help firms patent ideas, and that broadband speeds must rise.

The report has been produced to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week, which starts on Monday.

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