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You and Yours: Fake donation sites; 'Staircase tax'; Ice cream vans

Fake donation sites; 'Staircase tax'; Ice cream vans

06/09/2017

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Fake donation sites; 'Staircase tax'; Ice cream vans

The crowdfunding sites used by fraudsters to take money destined for good causes.

The back-dated tax costing small businesses thousands of pounds. The back-dated tax costing small businesses thousands of pounds. Plus the demise of ice cream sellers.

Major fundraising projects have become the norm of late. We're often being asked on social media to give to one cause or another. But how do we tell if an online page is legitimate? After the Manchester bombing, the donation site JustGiving had to freeze a number of different pages set up, claiming to help victims - as they were worried some could be fake. We'll hear from the crowdfunding site, GoFundMe, about how it deals with fraudulent pages.

We'll report on the court ruling which means some small businesses have been sent unexpected rates bills for thousands of pounds. It's because some companies using offices linked with each other by shared corridors, lifts or stairs are having to pay rates as though the areas were separate companies. The so-called 'Staircase Tax' means they've lost rate relief they've been used as lone companies. The Valuation Office Agency which has been reassessing businesses says the Supreme Court decision clarified existing law and, as a result, they had no choice but to change how they value some properties for business rates.

And for years there have been dire reports predicting the death of the Ice Cream sellers patrolling our streets. With their demise blamed on everything from double glazing to our more sophisticated taste buds, we'll report on the industry as it is now.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Jess Quayle.

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