Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Businesses selling goods into Europe face having to pay for VAT registration in all 26 EU countries, costing up to £130,000.
Britain left the EU on January 1 and small businesses now have to register for VAT in each country they sell directly to customers in. Plus they will need to have a physical business representative in each country, and not just be brass-plate company.
Given that it costs between £3,000 and £5,000 to register for VAT per EU country, small businesses could be left with a bill of £130,000 just for the right to pay VAT in each territory.
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Sean Glancy, VAT and indirect taxes partner at accountant UHY Hacker Young, said: “The risk here is that a UK business moving goods to consumers in, for example, Germany, Italy and Austria would have to register for VAT in all of these countries. If that multiplies across Europe, that is a lot of registrations, time, resource, and cost.”
The good news is that this is only until July 1, when the EU will bring in a one-stop-shop for VAT registration throughout Europe, which means UK businesses