Taxi firms defeat Uber VAT appeal

Veezu has welcomed a court ruling over taxi fares

- SION BARRY Business editor

CARDIFF-BASED taxi firm Veezu has defeated an appeal by global tech giant Uber to the Supreme Court that would have seen a steep rise in taxi fares across the UK.

With VAT on taxi fares applying in London since 2021, Uber - which operates a global taxi hire app - took a case against Sefton council to the High Court in July 2023, arguing that private vehicle hire firms such as Veezu operating outside of London and Plymouth, should also have to charge VAT.

In its decision the High Court interpreted a 1976 licensing law to mean that private hire vehicle operators must form contracts with passengers, so making them VAT-liable. The ruling was overturned last year following a successful joint legal challenge by Veezu and Liverpool-based taxi firm Delta to the Court of Appeal.