શ્રેણીઓ: પ્રેસ રિલીઝ

ફેડ સભ્યોને નવી HMRC “ટેક્સ કોન્ફિડન્ટ” વેબસાઇટનો ઉપયોગ કરવા પ્રોત્સાહિત કરે છે.

The Fed is encouraging members to engage with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC’s) new “Tax Confident” website which helps explain the basics of tax management for people across the country, including those running small businesses.

The website can be accessed through the Government’s website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/got-agap-in-your-tax-knowledge-get-tax-confident and as well as features linked to retirement planning, Fed members may be interested in the small business section: https://taxconfident.campaign.gov.uk/small-businesses-and-tax/

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Chief Customer Officer, said:   “We know that tax can feel confusing at times, especially when you are not sure where to start. HMRC’s Tax Confident website is here to help people get to grips with the basics, covering everything from the tax essentials for new businesses to the need-to-knows for retirement.  Tax Confident is designed to help you feel informed, capable and in control when it comes to managing your tax”

The Fed’s Political Engagement Coordinator Doug Oliver said: “The Fed always tells Government that our members work extremely hard to deal with the day-day management of their shops and that they do not often have the time or resource bigger businesses have for undertaking certain back office tasks. Consequently, we hope this tool could be a useful way of sharing certain useful basic information about tax for our members; the site was only launched this March, so we look forward to seeing how it develops and hopefully expands in the coming months.”

ઇંધણ વધારાના શુલ્ક માટે ન્યૂઝપ્રેડની નિંદા

The Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) has today (Monday, March 23) strongly condemned the decision by Irish news wholesaler Newspread to add an additional 4.5 per cent fuel surcharge to its existing carriage charge in response to cost pressures caused by current events in the Middle East.

The Fed is now demanding an urgent meeting with senior management at Newspread to share members’ concerns about these additional costs at a time when they can ill afford them as well as the lack of consultation.

National President Hetal Patel said: “This surcharge is unwelcome and has been announced without any consultation with the Fed or our members. At our meeting with Newspread we will be expressing our disappointment. Newspread has rushed through these additional charges without giving their retail customers fair notice. Six weeks’ notice of any changes to carriage charge templates is customary.”

National vice president Hemanshu Patel added: “While clearly there has been a recent increase in fuel prices, data from the RAC Foundation shows that pump prices were significantly higher during 2022-2023 than they are currently and despite reducing from those peaks no corresponding reduction was ever reflected in carriage charges.

“We are simply asking for a consistent approach to be taken, preferably alongside constructive discussions with colleagues across the supply chain, as opposed to the kind of unilateral decision-making on display here.

“I would question why a surcharge appears to have been applied without a mechanism to reduce the overall carriage charge at times of lower-than-expected fuel prices and how the figure of 4.5 per cent has been calculated, including if it has been decided in the context of longer-term price trends rather than short term market volatility.”

Craig Etchells, national deputy vice president and chair of the Fed’s news operations committee continued: “As well as speaking with Newspread, we will be discussing our concerns with publishers, reminding them of the role they are obliged to play in ensuring that carriage charges remain both transparent and fair.  This is particularly important in a marketplace that lacks competition for sales and choice of wholesaler.

“Unlike other products, news continues to have printed cover prices limiting retailer options to pass on costs to customers. Additional surcharges such as this do little to motivate retailers to remain in or to look to stock the category in store.”

The Generational Smoking Ban Takes A Step Closer

The Generational Smoking ban looks set to take effect next year after a challenge in the House of Lords was defeated. The ban will mean that all those born before 1st January 2009 will not be allowed to buy cigarettes.

The vote this week in the House of Lords was 246 votes to 78 against an amendment that would have raised the legal age for tobacco sales in England and Wales to 21. It was largely backed by Conservatives, alongside two Liberal Democrats.

The Fed has expressed concern in the past about the workability of the ban and has also said that an increase in the legal threshold to 21 would go a lot of the way to ensuring that youth tobacco is smoking curtailed.

The Fed is now focused on calling on Government to beef up resourcing for local authority trading standards – and other law enforcement measures with the Police and other Government agencies – to ensure that the ban does not lead to an increase in illicit trade.

Cut in commission for parcel handling labelled a ‘kick in the teeth’ for independent retailers

The Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) says Evri’s decision to reduce the commission on one of its ParcelShop categories is another blow to hard hit shop owners.

From April 5, parcels that are classified as ‘shop to shop’ will see the commission received by retailers go down from from 20p per parcel to 15p for drop-offs, and from 25p to 20p for shop to shop collections by store customers.

Shop to shop drop offs and collections are parcels that are delivered to one store before being collected by an Evri driver and taken to another store.

The Fed’s national deputy vice president Craig Etchells, who is also a ParcelShop agent, said: “At the moment, we do not know how many of our dropped off parcels are classed as shop to shop because it is not broken down on our invoice.

“The decision by Evri to cut the commission on these sorts of parcel could mean a significant reduction in earnings for retailers.

“There is just as much work to do for the retailer as with any other dropped off parcel, whether it is a customer to customer or return parcel, while it takes even longer to process colections.

“Such a big reduction in commission is yet another kick in the teeth for smaller retailers like me and many of our members.”

Scottish Government Writes to the Fed About Business Rates in Scotland

Scottish Government Minister, Ivan McKee MSP of the SNP, has written to the Fed’s President in Scotland, Mr Hussan Lal, with further information about changes affecting rates in Scotland following the Holyrood Budget which was set in January.

Ahead of the Budget earlier this year, Mr Lal called for Business Rates in Scotland to be controlled so as to benefit retailers, especially small shops like those owned by Fed members. It also called for rates to be aligned with those in England and with those in the Scottish hospitality sector.

Mr. Lal’s letter, ahead of the budget, said that “[In Scotland]…Many small shops are struggling because of rising costs including energy costs and Employers National Insurance Contributions and because many shoppers have less to spend given the current cost of living. Retail crime is also jeopardising the livelihood of many of our members. We understand that factors such as ENICs are a reserved issue but we call on the Scottish Government to take action on rates.”

Mr. McKee, who currently serves as Minister for Public Finance, stated that: “The Scottish Budget 2026-27, announced on 13 January, along with additional relief announced on 12 February, ensures the estimated revenues raised from non-domestic rates in 2026-27 will be 7% lower in real terms measured by the Consumer Price Index than pre-COVID despite the number of properties on the valuation roll increasing in that time.

“It continues to support businesses and communities, ensuring the lowest Basic Property Rate since 2018-19 and offering a package of reliefs estimated to be worth over £870 million, in 2026-27. The Budget offers more than £320 million of support through transitional relief schemes and retail hospitality and leisure relief over the next three years.”

Commenting, Mr Lal said: “The Fed was grateful for the Scottish Government’s response and noted some positive measures in the Budget for Scottish retailers, as we lobbied for.

Nonetheless, this clearly remains a challenging time for Scottish convenience retailers and we are continuing to lobby senior political figures across the political spectrum so they understand the challenges we face.”

PayPoint fee increase expected but disappointing, says the Fed

The Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) says it is disappointed by PayPoint’s decision to increase monthly fees, while recognising that the rise was expected in the current economic climate.

From 1 April, retailers using PayPoint will see their monthly fees rise by 3.8%, in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI).

The Fed says it remains concerned about the cumulative impact of rising costs on independent retailers and has made those concerns clear on behalf of its members.

However, it is also encouraging retailers to make the most of the income generating opportunities available through PayPoint to help offset the increase.

Fed National President Hetal Patel said: “Any increase in costs is disappointing, particularly at a time when independent retailers continue to face intense pressure from rising overheads, and we have raised these concerns on behalf of our members.

“At the same time, we strongly encourage retailers to ensure they are fully maximising the opportunities that PayPoint can bring to their businesses. The Health Check we launched with PayPoint a few years ago to help members to find the right opportunities to earn more in their stores saw thousands of retailers increase their revenue.”

Any member who has yet to take advantage of an instore Health Check with PayPoint’s retail relationship managers to learn more about its initiatives and services and the profit opportunities they offer should email healthcheck@paypoint.com.

In a letter to retailers announcing the fee increase, PayPoint’s customer experience director Ben Ford said: “It’s clear to us that our retailer partners are critical to our success, and we remain committed to supporting you, your business and your customers.”