New Labour, new VAT rules
Labour is considering plans to switch VAT from transactions to turnover for small businesses. The proposals from the Forum of Private Business were brought up at a press conference at Labour’s Blackpool conference last week – just as the Government is being urged to consider scrapping the zero rate for the tax.
Shadow small business minister Barbara Roche indicated Labour’s position at a press conference. She said: ‘It is a matter which we will look at.
Certainly we will discuss this with our colleagues in the Treasury team.’
Roche also pledged to reduce the cost of red tape on small businesses.
The forum claimed a typical engineering company with a workforce of 15 and a turnover of #1m spends nearly #20,000 complying with red tape – about as much as they would spend employing a productive member of staff.