Tesco: ‘Delay VAT rise’

Supermarket giant Tesco has called on the Government to delay a rise in VAT scheduled for January 1st, according to this report on the Daily Telegraph.

Set to increase from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent, VAT was cut in November in a move to combat the recession. Many called the value of the cut into question at the time.

Tesco, however, praised the reduction and urged a delay in returining to the old 17.5 per cent rate: "The measures introduced by the Government last year helped consumers and businesses through the toughest times,” said Tesco’s director for corporate and legal affairs Lucy Neville Rolfe.

“We are not out of the woods yet and we need to be very careful to maintain consumer confidence especially as unemployment rises.

"The cut in VAT was an especially welcome boost to consumers, and whilst we have always known it was a temporary change the timing of the increase on New Year’s Eve will hit retailers large and small at a key trading time."

"I would urge the Chancellor to delay that change until a more sensible date. It would help our staff enormously if the change took place towards the end of January, after the key Christmas and sale period."