Business

• Industrial Structure
• VAT Registrations/Deregistrations
• Major Employers

VAT registrations / deregistrations

VAT registrations and de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups and closures. They are an indicator of the level of entrepreneurship and of the health of the business population. As such they are used widely in regional and local economic planning. The source of these figures is the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) which contains records of all businesses registered for VAT.

Coverage of the statistics is complete in all parts of the economy except a few VAT exempt sectors and the very smallest one person businesses operating below the threshold for VAT registration, which in 2005 was £58,000 of annual turnover.