Closed petition Reverse the decision to increase flat rate VAT to 16.5%

Closed on 3 May 2017

The Chancellor announced in his Autumn statement flat rate VAT will increase to 16.5% from April 2017. This means for a business such as my own there will typically be an additional 4.5% per year tax on gross turnover. The increase is not justified placing an additional tax only on small businesses.

The flat rate VAT scheme was introduced to help small businesses simplify VAT reporting by reducing the need to complete a full VAT return and in turn help HMRC by reducing their workload checking full VAT returns.
The proposed change will mean that many businesses will withdraw from the flat rate scheme placing a new and increased burden on HMRC in receiving and managing their full VAT returns. Sadly some small businesses will not survive the imposition of the new tax charge.