Some really good news. David Gauke is the UK’s Treasury Secretary – a key decision-maker in the EU VAT mess / fix possibilities. We met with him in December, to tell him about the problems you have been facing, but had been unable to get another meeting with him since.
Thanks to your efforts after our post-Fiscalis appeal for help last week, we are now meeting with David tomorrow – Tuesday 22nd September at 4pm.
And we URGENTLY need your help:
We (and you!) have huge support from MEPs (European Members of Parliament), the EU Commission and many of the EU Member States.
However, it could still take 2-5 years for the EU Commission to convince each of the 28 Member States to bring in a threshold, once they propose the legislation in late 2016 and, at the end of the Fiscalis meeting on 9th September, there was little appetite among the other EU Member States for any interim measures to help businesses.
David Gauke is in a position to recommend that the UK suspend these rules for the smallest businesses, to keep us trading in the meantime. If the UK does this, then other Member States may follow suit.
If you are in the UK, please would you:
- Send an urgent email (or make an urgent phone call) to your MP (and MEPs if possible) TODAY or Tuesday am
- Ask them to phone / email David Gauke before tomorrow’s meeting asking him to agree to suspend this legislation for the smallest businesses, as a matter of urgency, until the EU Commission’s promised legislation is passed
- Ask them to explain that these UK businesses would then revert to the UK VAT rules – we are not asking for an additional VAT exemption
- And they need to ask the UK government to indemnify us against any risk of double taxation by other EU Member States during this period (we have done the maths and it would cost them peanuts to do this, but would keep hundreds of thousands of micro businesses trading)
Please let us know via the comments when you have written to or phoned your MP!
And please join us over on Facebook to hear how we get on: EU VAT Action
Thank you SO much for your on-going support.
Please send hugely positive vibes and a generous sprinkling of breakthroughs for tomorrow afternoon.
Clare & the EU VAT Action Team
I have contacted my MP Andrew Smith
Thank you! We need David Gauke to know he is being held accountable by the MPs at Westminster, to help him make brave decisions.
I have emailed Phil Wilson, MP for Sedgefield. Good luck!
Thank you Gillian. Let’s hope that Phil gets active on your behalf!
I’ve just emailed my UK MP John Glen. (Salisbury). Although I live and work in France i’m hoping that action by the UK may influence others.
Thank you Shirley. Fingers crossed. Thank you for taking action.
I have just sent an email to my MP Meg Hillier. I hope she reads it before 4pm tomorrow.
Thank you Heather. We can but try!
Contacted my MP, so hopefully there will be some South London movement.
I have just emailed my MP, Ian Lavery, (Wansbeck in Northumberland) asking him to call or email David Gauke before the meeting tomorrow. I will call his constituency office in the morning. Good luck and thank you Clare!