ACS

As the Chancellor prepares to make his pre-Budget report to the House of Commons on Wednesday, local shops call on him to take action to accelerate the path to economic recovery by reducing business costs and increasing consumer confidence. In submissions to the Treasury ACS has called for:

• a delay in the implementation of return to 17.5% VAT by a month to the first February
• a rebalancing of tobacco and alcohol duty to cancel out the upwards adjustment made in last years pre-budget to account for the decline in VAT
• to reconsider the decison to impose a hike in national insurance on employers in 2011

ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “the pre-budget is crucial for ensuring the 2010 is a year when the economy recovers from recession and this will be achieved by facilitating job creation and helping to rebuild consumer confidence.

“Specifically the VAT changeover will be a major burden on retailers seeking the changeover of hundreds of product prices in the most busy trading period of the year and on a day when staffing is most difficult. Failure to act will seriously let down thousands of retail businesses across the country

“We are watching closely action on alcohol and tobacco duty, last year the Chancellor put duty up so as to ensure that there was no reduction in prices on these products from the VAT decrease. Now when VAT returns to its previous rate, he should adjust the duty downwards accordingly. Failure to do so will harm retailers and be a tax grab from consumers.

“The worse thing a Chancellor can do in a period of recession is tax job creation the proposed hikes in national insurance are absolutely the wrong idea and should be reversed now well in advance of the proposed implementation of increases in 2011.”

The Pre-budget Report will be delivered from 12:30pm on Wednesday 9th December