We need to Support small businesses in the UK right now by asking the Uk government to continue to update our approach to VAT.

Right now all over the Uk small businesses are on the edge of collapse due to inflation. Rise in fuel, ingredients, labour costs, and spiralling premises costs. We are seeing this especially through the hospitality industry with world leading accoladed restaurants having to close down due to not wishing to drop standards, or quality of produce and origin in order to survive and pay this outdated tax and overheads.

VAT at 20% takes 1/5th of all the turnover gained and with the rise of inflation it’s now making small ethical businesses unable to operate financially. 

Without this tax relief many businesses will not survive this winter. Particularly those in seasonal locations. 

VAT is designed as a luxury goods tax from the producer to the consumer to tax the consumer for living a luxury life that is unsustainable to the planet. However what we are seeing now is due to the pandemic and rise in inflation the consumer can no longer afford the inflated pricing. This means businesses are no longer able to pass on the vat tax to the customer as deigned, and the only way for businesses to absorb that cost themselves to pass on is to work in less sustainable ways. Outsourcing goods from outside of the Uk, or farmed less responsibly, or with cheaper labour producing them in other countries. This now means VAT actively encourages businesses to work more unsustainably, and the only businesses surviving the increases are those that are already working with large profit margins, with poor sustainable choices and production. VAT now needs an overhaul to protect our planet, small business success and ultimately whole community’s and economic growth based around small uk product producing businesses. 

I am asking the Uk government to consider an overhaul to encourage and help better sustainable practices and to reduce vat for small businesses. Vat still chargeable to those companies who continue to make huge profits by exploiting the Uk tax payer and system.  

You can support your local small businesses by asking the government to offer small businesses a VAT reduction through the recession and re looking at this now out dated approach to luxury goods tax post pandemic.

By reducing the VAT to 5% this will allow small businesses to continue to operate in greener and more productive ways. Enabling business success, staff retention, better employment opportunities within communities, investment in better greener UK produce and practices, Career growth and ultimately local communities thriving and spending our way out of the recession. 

Please help us by signing this petition and asking the UK GOVERNMENT TO START SUPPORTING SMALL UK BUSINESSES WITH A VAT REDUCTION NOW. 

 Thank you