RAVAS 

A structural loophole in HMRC’s 2021 online marketplace VAT rules is being systematically exploited by overseas dropshippers using bogus UK limited companies. Until HMRC extends deemed reseller obligations to all marketplace sellers - not just overseas ones - the evasion will continue unchecked. 1. Background: The 2021 Deemed Reseller Rules In January 2021, HMRC introduced the deemed reseller rules as part of a wider effort to close the VAT gap on cross-border e-commerce. Th

Six months or a year is a long time in business. Two, three, or five years is a lifetime. Yet when it comes to tackling market distortions caused by tax abuse in online retail, the UK's authorities have consistently been slow to act — and sometimes slow even to recognise that a problem exists — despite the very real damage being done to legitimate UK businesses. Businesses are not statistics. They represent livelihoods for owners and their employees. They generate the tax rev

Today marks the release of " Tax Avoidance: The Musical " – the 14th and final episode of The Corruption Diaries (Series 2) available wherever you get your podcasts . Just over a year ago, Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network (TJN) invited me to record a series of podcasts about the work of Retailers Against VAT Avoidance Schemes (RAVAS). Over the next ten months, I worked with the brilliant Leo Schick. What started as a series of interviews evolved into something none o

RAVAS is proud to support a joint letter signed by a diverse coalition of 19 trade associations, professional bodies, and campaign groups—ranging from the British Retail Consortium to Dan Neidle’s Tax Policy Associates . Written by Andrew Goodacre of the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) , the letter has been submitted to Exchequer Secretary Dan Tomlinson . It highlights a critical loophole: currently, Online Marketplaces (OMPs) are only required to collect VA

I am thankful to Croner-i Tax Weekly and specifically to Glyn Fullelove and Sarah Laing, for inviting me to write a piece ahead of the Government's consultation on scrapping the de minimis VAT and duty exemptions. Since 2020 RAVAS has campaigned for the scrapping of de minimis and also the extension of the Deemed Reseller VAT collection rules for Online Marketplaces. At present these rules only apply to businesses located overseas which has resulted in overseas entities using

Since 2015 RAVAS has been campaigning for Online Marketplaces to collect VAT. Working with VATfraud.org in 2015 £1 billion a year in lost VAT was identified, a figure that contradicted the £350m per year figure produced by HMRC in 2017. In 2021 legislation was finally introduced that made Online Marketplaces collect VAT and in the first year £1.4 billion in VAT was collected. However, the legislation only extended to businesses located outside of the UK and it was immediat