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Manchester Small Business
Education publisher battles to change VAT laws
Riazat Butt
A SMALL publisher is taking on the government in a move to change the VAT laws.
Bolton-based Fisher Education creates educational worksheets that are
distributed via the Internet and CD-ROMS. The products - called 10ticks - are
used by more than 300,000 schoolchildren.
But the publisher claims that many more eight to 16-year-olds could use the
worksheets if they were VAT-free.
Managing director Peter Fisher said schools and colleges can claim back the
VAT, but parents can't, so many children are missing out.
Mr Fisher has challenged Custom and Excise to get the VAT ruling over turned,
but failed. Now he has enlisted the services of Euro MP Gary Titley to petition
for a change in VAT law in Europe.
Current VAT laws mean that all "digitised products" - such as email newsletters
and CD-ROMS - are subject to a 17.5 per cent levy.
'Unfair'
Mr Fisher said: "Our worksheets are paper products sent through an effective
distribution system and it seems unfair that parents have to pay VAT to support
their child's education."
He added that the worksheets, costing between £25 and £100, are classed as a
digitised product even though they are intended and used as a paper product.
A former teacher, Mr Fisher set up his business two and a half years ago after
he became frustrated with constant changes to the curriculum.
He poured £20,000 of his own money into the venture and, with the help of his
wife, launched Fisher Educational.
The business has gone from strength to strength and turnover has grown
steadily. The company also won Best Small Business in Bolton and Bury in
October 2001.
But despite the popularity of his worksheets Mr Fisher feels that he is at a
disadvantage, losing out to the financial muscle of publishing giants such as
Dorling Kindersley.
"I have two choices - to try to change European law or to try to bring books in
line with our product, but this seems a very drastic measure."
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