Juliet and I are off to Brussels this week, to meet with senior members of the EU Commission.

Our meeting with David Gauke (UK Treasury Secretary) in September was successful, but everything the UK government is proposing is ‘tinkering around the edges’. The are not prepared to negotiate an easement threshold until the formal EU legislation has been passed.

This isn’t even being proposed until ‘late 2016’ and it could take 2-5 years from now to get all 28 Member States to agree. By that point, the Digital Economy will be pretty much over.

So Juliet and I are heading off to Brussels this week, to meet with senior members of the EU Commission, on your behalf.

We need to see what can be done to separate out the easement legislation from the larger legislative programme of which it is part, to allow an interim threshold to be agreed now, not in 2020.

Given how many EU Member States are quietly giving exemptions to their smallest businesses, we need to have EU-wide action to make these unofficial thresholds available to all.

We will be asking for:

• the first €20,000 of cross-border digital sales to be subject to your domestic VAT rules, rather than the new place of supply rules
• the next €100,000 of cross-border digital sales fall under the ‘soft landing’ zone, with simplified rules (e.g. Payment processor country code, instead of 2-3 pieces of evidence)
• all firms below the EU Audit threshold (€2m) to have a guarantee that all enquiries, penalties and audits will be handled through their home country Tax Authority, rather than through the 27 other Member States, as is currently happening.

We need your help – both with the positive vibes and the tangible action. David Gauke (for the UK) and Pierre Moscovici (EU Commission) need to hear from your MP and MEPs to insist that the easement is brought forward on an interim basis, to allow us to keep trading while the longer-term legislation is passed.

Is it not acceptable for the slow pace that legislation can take in the EU to be allowed to close down or damage so many digital businesses. NONE of the EU Member States are currently proposing official interim easements, but that is what we all need.

There is no such thing as ‘impossible’ – it’s simply that what we are asking for is not the norm and may not be easy. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

And, having led this campaign for nearly a year now, we believe it CAN be done. Your elected representatives can apply the pressure needed to make sure that happens.

Thank you so much for your continued support.
With love and gratitude,
Clare & the EU VAT Action Team

P.S. Although the EU Commission asked us to attend this meeting, they do not fund us in any way. We are funding this trip ourselves, which will cost Juliet and I over £1,000 between us. If you feel you could help with our direct expenses, here is where you can make a donation:

>>>> Donate to the travel costs <<<

Every donation helps. Thank you so much.