A vote to LEAVE the EU in the Referendum will not solve the EU VATMOSS issue!

You might recall that I was particularly vocal about the #EU #VATMOSS issue last year... if not then a look back through the blog will fill you in on what I was saying...  but as we approach the EU #Referendum. it's worth flagging up how the REMAIN / LEAVE votes relate to the issue of VAT on cross-border digital sales within the EU.

You might think that if we vote LEAVE then all our woes will end and VATMOSS will no longer be an issue for micro-businesses...   and you would be wrong!

In fact, a vote to LEAVE would make the situation even worse for small traders... 

Clare Josa (co-founder of the EU VAT Action Campaign and one of the team which took up the issue of how VAT on digital cross-border sales was hurting small businesses) explains why...

http://www.dancinginyoursoulshoes.com/will-happen-eu-digital-vat-leave-eu-10-popular-myths-debunked/

‪#‎EU‬ Myth Busters: “Our most important markets are China and the US, not the EU”

The EU is the world’s biggest single marketplace, and it is the UK's largest trading partner, with sales amounting to almost half (48%) of our world exports and more than half (53%) of our world imports. 

In 2014, the United Kingdom exported $472B making it the 9th largest exporter in the world, and imported $663B making it the 5th largest importer in the world. In fact we export more to Holland (7.2% of UK exports) alone than to the entirety of the Commonwealth's 53 nations!

The Observatory of Economic Complexity [OEC] figures state:

"The top export destinations of the United Kingdom are the United States ($51B), Germany ($46.5B), the Netherlands ($34.2B), Switzerland ($33.6B) and France ($27B)."

"The top import origins are Germany ($100B), China ($62.7B), the Netherlands ($50.7B), the United States ($44.4B) and France ($41.5B)."

So whilst the USA figures as our single nation top export market (11% of exports), it is still not a match for the value of exports from the UK to the whole EU marketplace; whilst exports to China form the same amount as exports to France (5.7%).

If Brexit occurs, the UK would need to re-negotiate more than 100 trade agreements, all of which take time and meanwhile what happens to our businesses trading outside of the UK?

Source of facts:
http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/gbr/