The shorthand we used to understand Russia back then was: nobody could get a pair of Levi’s. An upcoming VAT change could create something similar in the UK
Masochistically, if I ever see a story about VAT, I’ll read it. In the old days, it just made my brain ache (17.5%? What kind of maths even is that?). This year, it has been the symbol of the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis (I’ve known cuts to it and bumps to it, in the service of a choppy economy, but until the pandemic I had never known payments be suspended). From here on in, I suspect, VAT stories will be all about Brexit, because from 1 January, EU sellers will be liable for VAT to the UK government.
For smaller EU businesses, especially those whose UK markets aren’t huge, it just won’t be worth selling to us. To look on the bright side, this might be a bonanza for small UK businesses, which will have less competition. To unpack that hard economic jargon for the layperson, “less competition” means we won’t be able to buy stuff, and the stuff we can buy will be more expensive and possibly not as good, because there’s no other stuff we could buy instead.
