Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing further Government support for businesses registered for VAT where turnover has fallen below the £85,000 threshold.

Businesses can ask HMRC to cancel their registration if their VAT taxable turnover falls below the deregistration threshold of £83,000. Businesses that are below the VAT threshold and are not voluntarily registered do not account for VAT on their supplies.

In light of COVID-19, the Government has announced a significant support package to help businesses from a whole range of sectors through the winter months, which includes an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, an extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, and an extension of the application window for the Government-backed loan schemes.