To be fair to BALI - this is what they told me this morning:
"The comments made by BALI's Chief Executive, Sandra Loton-Jones, in the
article on page 5 of the 6th November 2009 edition of Horticulture
Week, were extracted selectively by the journalist from a longer
interview and, in isolation, could be open to misinterpretation.
There
is no question that, from a price perspective, operators who work in
the domestic market and are VAT registered are at a disadvantage when
competing against non-VAT registered businesses. The domestic client is
unable to reclaim the VAT charged by the VAT registered contractor yet
the contractor must charge it by law.
The non-VAT registered operator
is immediately 15 per cent (17.5 per cent from January 2010) cheaper
before selection of materials and labour is even considered.
Whilst there are undoubtedly 'rogue traders' amongst VAT registered
contractors, there is a greater risk of becoming the victim of an
unscrupulous landscaper amongst non-registered companies if they are
not members of a recognised trade association or customer protection
scheme.
Indeed, it is arguably more important for sole traders and
small businesses to belong to a trade association with strict entry
criteria and recognised industry standards so that the client can be
reassured of their professional capabilities and trustworthiness.
The
member is also then protected against unscrupulous domestic clients who
exploit smaller contractors by trying to extract last minute discounts
for often spurious claims of dissatisfaction with the work completed.
However, there is, undeniably, a major contingent of sole traders and
micro businesses, outside of landscape trade associations, that
operates effectively and efficiently and represents all that is good in
the industry."
Richard Gardiner, Chairman, BALI
