Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has criticised reports that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, could cut the VAT registration threshold for businesses from £90,000 to as low as £30,000, warning that such a move would “punish small traders” and stifle growth.
Speaking at a business event in London on Monday, Farage argued that the threshold should instead be raised, suggesting a level between £160,000 and £180,000 to help small firms expand and hire more staff.
“The VAT threshold is far too low,” he said. “There are so many one or two-man bands that find themselves literally on that cusp. That’s why the argument for increasing the threshold makes sense. It’s a damn nuisance to a large number of people.”
Farage’s intervention comes amid reports that the Treasury is weighing changes to the VAT regime ahead of the Autumn Budget. The Daily Mail reported that Reeves was considering lowering the threshold, while earlier speculation in the summer suggested she could raise it in a pro-growth move, previously welcomed by the Office for Budget Responsibility when Jeremy Hunt was chancellor.
Farage also attacked the government’s reported plans for a so-called “exit tax” — a proposed levy on capital gains for business owners and entrepreneurs who relocate overseas. He said such measures risked driving investment and talent out of the UK.
The Reform UK leader also criticised the growing dominance of private equity in the British economy and called for renewed efforts to “boost UK capital markets,” including by scrapping stamp duty on shares to make Britain more competitive against international exchanges.
“We have to compete against other stock markets,” Farage said, adding that he would launch a working group aimed at ensuring small businesses had a stronger voice in government policy.
In his address to a room of small business owners, Farage accused successive governments of favouring large corporations through lobbying and political access.
“It’s the big businesses that take you to Wimbledon. It’s the big businesses that take people out for dinner,” he said. “Successive governments only listen to them.”
He criticised both the IR35 off-payroll working rules, introduced under the Conservatives, and Labour’s proposed workers’ rights reforms, arguing that both would place “crippling” burdens on company directors and small employers.
While Farage stopped short of outlining concrete tax proposals, he promised that Reform UK would release a set of detailed small business policies ahead of the next general election.
The event also came as JCB, the construction equipment giant owned by Lord Anthony Bamford, confirmed a £200,000 donation to Reform UK — its first official contribution to the party.
A JCB spokesperson said the company was supporting both the Conservatives and Reform because the two parties “believe in small business.”
Farage thanked Bamford for the donation, saying it reflected growing support among entrepreneurs and small firms for Reform’s campaign to “rebalance the economy away from corporate giants.”
