The British Hair Consortium (BHC) is calling on members of the Hairdressing, Barbering & Beauty Industry to contact their Members of Parliament (MP) directly for fundamental tax reform.
The British Hair Consortium states that the current moment is critical, as the government has established a new Growth Taskforce, comprising 74 MPs who will evaluate how the tax system can better support growth.
REGISTER HERE to join the campaign
What’s different this time?
Laws have changed, taxes have increased, the Fair Work Agency is now live, and there’s a new Government state inspection agency who can just walk into any business to inspect its status. Never has it been so important to understand what this all means to the industry. The Growth Taskforce are looking at how they can trigger growth, tax reform who understand the pressures our industry is under. They are ready to listen.
What can you do to make a difference NOW?
- Register to JOIN ONE VOICE
- The BHC will send you a letter to send to your MP – targeting the 74 MPs
- Share
- Let’s raise the noise and make our voice so loud MPs have no choice but to listen
The campaign focuses on two major issues: VAT Reform and Market Distortion
The BHC is renewing its long-standing campaign for a reduction in VAT and a level playing field to prevent the continued erosion of employment and apprenticeships within the sector. New analysis compiled by the BHC shows a deeply worrying divide in the market:
- Employment fell by 20,000 people in 2025, meaning nearly a quarter (23%) of all remaining employee jobs disappeared in a single year leaving just 65,500 in employment, the lowest number of employees on record. Analysis of turnover data confirms that VAT-paying salons have grown three times slower than the wider economy, while non-VAT paying operators have grown three times faster.
ONS data analysed by the BHC and an investigation by BBC’s “File on Four” into bogus self-employment demonstrate that around £1 Billion was lost to treasury through tax avoidance and evasion in the last 12 months (£500 million in VAT and £500 million in National Insurance contributions) The structural unfairness is driving legitimate businesses underground.
“It’s become so bad that for many owners, the only way they can keep running is to artificially sink below the VAT threshold and become micro businesses. They’re laying off staff and then renting chairs to them as self-employed contractors,” said Toby Dicker for the BHC. “Business owners and employees are exasperated feeling like their businesses and careers built over decades are being trashed, all because they feel compelled to do the right thing.”
REGISTER HERE to join the campaign