Disability tax update
September 24, 2020
The Chancellor has announced that there will no longer be an Autumn Finance Statement, within which there had been proposals to introduce a new tax on online shopping. The proposed tax had risked amounting to a disability tax that would have disproportionately affected people with conditions like M.E. who rely on online shopping and delivery services, leading to Action for M.E.'s open letter to the Chancellor last month opposing the tax.
This charge could have resulted in an increase in costs for online shopping at a time when more people than ever are having to stay at home. With research undertaken by Scope highlighting that, on average, people with a disability already face extra costs of £583 a month, the tax would have represented an additional burden on these people.
We would like to thank everyone for signing our petition and ensuring your voice is heard. We will continue to monitor the situation and will be looking out for other policies and tax changes which could detrimentally and unfairly target people with M.E.
