Raising Awareness on the BBC

Businesses in the hairdressing sector continue to struggle to make a profit and are calling for a rethink of how VAT is applied to the sector.

Gareth Penn appeared on the BBC over the past week, as well as on radio and online, calling for the government to correct the problem where employed salons pay considerably more tax than self-employed.

James Talbot, who runs three salons in Oxfordshire, says the current situation is causing hairdressers to find ways to fall below the VAT threshold in the following BBC News article. In the same article Gareth Penn, our chief executive, warned that the UK Treasury would “lose billions in tax revenue due to structural flaws in the VAT system”.

Earlier this year, the Hair Council called for a split-rate VAT model, taxing labour-based services at 10% VAT.

To read the full article, click here, and head on over to our Instagram here to hear a message from Gareth rounding up what he’s been saying across the BBC in case you’ve missed him.