MP backs local small businesses.

Dover & Deal MP Natalie Elphicke has called on the Chancellor to back small businesses in the upcoming Autumn Statement. Last week the MP met with shopkeepers, cafés and other local small businesses, ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday 22 November 2023. Natalie has written to the Chancellor calling for small businesses to have extra support. Natalie says a key priority is to raise the VAT threshold to exclude most small businesses. The VAT threshold is currently £85,000 – and has remained unchanged since 2017. Due to rising prices, increasing numbers of small businesses have found themselves caught in the VAT net for the first time. A number of local businesses told Natalie that they have been cutting back on staff and hours to keep below the VAT threshold. Natalie says that increasing the VAT threshold to £250,000 would be a major boost for businesses, jobs and money in East Kent. Natalie said: “The small businesses I have been meeting recently told me how hard they work – and how they would like more help from the Government. VAT is a particular concern as it weighs on jobs and small business growth. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our local communities – from the village shop to pubs, builders and manufacturers. They are job providers and job creators who play a vital role in our local economy “I’ve written to the Chancellor calling for the VAT threshold to be raised. Taking the threshold from £85,000 to £250,000 would be a real boost to small businesses across Dover, Deal and the Villages. We need to do all we can to help local small businesses grow and thrive.”