A caravan company in Hull appears to be the first to suffer ahead of the imminent caravan tax, after it warned staff that as many as 350 could be made redundant.
Willerby Holiday Homes could be forced to shed around half of its 688 employees if the 20 per cent VAT rate is added to its static caravans because of the impact on business.
Though a petition calling for the overturn of the tax is gathering momentum, as things stand the tax will come into effect on October 1st.
“We believe that this is a prudent and responsible measure reflecting the current economic environment, proposed VAT changes and consumer confidence levels,” the company said in a statement.
Karl Turner, the Labour MP for Hull East who is backing the Early Day Motion to scrap the policy, said that the company has not yet issued any redundancy notices but has taken the first step as a precaution ahead of the tax’s proposed implementation.
“It is the wrong tax at the wrong time,” he said.
“The government can now see the very real impact of this policy. They still have an opportunity to reconsider this tax and I ask them to do this.”
