Firstly, thank you to all those of you who are continuing to sign and share the petition - we are now up to almost 13,500 signatures - which is a wonderful achievement - but let's keep going! The more people we can persuade to join the campaign the better. UPDATE: As we are all aware, the new EU VAT rules came into force on January 1st 2015, complete with their devastating unintended consequences for the smallest businesses. So here at campaign HQ we have been discussing how we can take our campaign to the next level. The campaign has already grown massively in the past two months and we now have the ear of the EU Commission, as well as a consultative voice, on behalf of the smallest businesses and sole traders, on key UK committees. But we still need to raise awareness right across the EU so that this isn't viewed as a 'UK issue' and we need your help to achieve the campaign goals! 2015 CAMPAIGN AIMS: 1. Immediate: businesses to call their national government to immediately suspend the implementation of the legislation due to the devastating unintended consequences for micro businesses, whilst it is reviewed. 2. Short-term: to obtain a fair and reasonable exemption threshold, to apply worldwide 3. Short-medium-term: to work with the key EU decision-makers to review this legislation from the ground up, reworking it to be practical, fair and reasonable, even for the smallest companies 4. Long-term: to work at a global level to ensure that the other countries who are bringing in similar place of supply VAT legislation learn from the experiences we are having in the EU and avoid repeating the same mistakes. For the full update, see Clare Josa's article here: http://euvataction.org/2015/01/05/eu-vat-update-its-time-to-crank-things-up-a-gear-find-out-how-you-can-join-in/ PLANNED ACTIONS: Over the coming months, we will progress the campaign aims in many ways, including meetings, lobbying, working with politicians, working with the media, getting input into February’s OECD document, Twitter storms (next one likely to be w/c 12th Jan), and much, much more. Please join us in our new Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/euvataction/) and keep an eye on our updates here and on our Twitter feed to make sure you know what’s coming next (https://twitter.com/euvataction). HOW YOU CAN HELP: JOIN US: in our new Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/euvataction/. The campaign has grown so big that it needed its own space and we would love you to come and join us there. Our campaign group is the ideal place to get answers to your questions, to find out how to get inspired by the Action Challenges, to connect with other businesses and to help each other keep trading and find workable solutions, while the campaign works towards its goals. Thank you so much, as always, for your on-going support. Together, we can make a difference. Issy & the EU VAT Action Team