Small & Medium businesses are the UK's largest and most diverse employers. They create some of the best jobs, and they already pay huge amounts of the UK's national tax bill.

Rishi Sunak's proposed "Online Tax" of 2% on online sales should only be targeted at Large Businesses - the kind that are already actively avoiding tax, and that send much of their money overseas, driving income and jobs out of the UK.

• A large business is classified as one with a turnover of £25.9m or more
• Only 8000 businesses in the UK are classified as "large"
• 25% of these large businesses are foreign owned
• Often times repatriating their profits earned in the UK offshore (rather than re-investing in the UK)
• Many actively avoid UK tax, moving their base to tax havens around the world, like Bermuda

On the other hand, Small & Medium Businesses:

• Make up 60% of all jobs in the UK
• They are typically created, built, and staffed by people who live, work and pay taxes in the UK.
• They do not ship their profits offshore - because they're run by people living, working and paying tax in the UK

If we are going to raise additional taxes, and put additional pressure on business, it should be on those businesses that help the UK least - Large Businesses, that barely pay any tax now, and who ship most of their income off shore. 

We should not take a brash, slapdash approach and assume "all online sales" are the same - many online businesses are family run, great employers, and have diversified online through covid-19 to support their income throughout the pandemic. We should not PUNISH innovative entrepreneurs for thinking on their feet, but seek to ensure LARGE BUSINESSES pay their fair share.

Large Businesses right now already get away with an awful lot, whilst Small & Medium Businesses pay their fair share. Any proposed online tax should only be targeted at those large businesses who have the ability to pay, and arguably offer the least benefit, to UK home-grown jobs and innovative.

To punish Small & Medium Businesses because of the "crimes" of large businesses, and the avoidance of Large Businesses, is morally wrong and will be deeply damaging for jobs and innovation in the UK.

If you want the "one percenters" to pay tax... tax the 1%! The Large Businesses in the UK that make up just 1% of all UK companies!