A "sad and trapped" Leeds shop owner has made an emotional plea to customers who have accused him of being "greedy".
With Dion Smith’s takings now surpassing £85,000 a year, his success means he has had to charge a 20 percent VAT on all of his products from his tiny jewellery shop in the Corn Exchange. The 42-year-old claims he’s “never been hugely aspirational” and is now cursed by having to drastically increase his prices.
Dion says his annual income went over the “cliff edge” of £85,000 in 2021. He claims this due was to a backlog of orders he was unable to fill during lockdown in 2020.
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He thinks it’s “daft” a small business like his, where he is the sole employee, should have to stump such a high VAT on all of his products. The Chapel Allerton man doesn’t want to expand and was happy earning around £80,000 year.
Dion has had his city-centre shop in the Corn Exchange for 12 years and has built up a loyal customer base – but he says customers mistakenly think he’s “greedy” when they see the higher prices in his shop.
The jeweller says he is in a difficult position where he feels torn about raising the prices as he may ultimately lose his customer base, after already raising prices due to inflation.
Dion said: “I just feel sad and trapped. I can’t put that 20 per cent on my prices, it would be too much and I would get more customers walking away.
“It’s a huge cliff edge once you go past that £85,000 mark. You have to increase your prices by 20 percent to cover that tax. Especially now-a-days that people are being more savvy with their money It reflects badly on me, they think I’m pushing it and being greedy.
“It is a little bit infuriating, I understand how the customers are thinking but they don’t want to know about this. They think I’m greedy.
“I’ve always taken the view that this is my living and I’ll just tick over and I’m happy with that, it’s my job. I enjoy what I’m going, I’m happy. I’ve never been hugely aspirational, I’ve never looked at it like I’m looking to build an empire here. That’s not my ethos, I’ve not looked at it that way.
“But if I was, it just seems counterproductive, it seems daft. It just doesn’t make sense to me that the way the system is geared up, it’s a huge stumbling block for a huge business.”
He’s had to cancel his bespoke service as the “high ticket items” are ultimately costing him too much in VAT.
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