COUNCILLORS are to be asked to oppose plans to raise VAT.

Opposition leader Cllr Aaron Shotton has tabled a motion to be debated tomorrow at a meeting of Flintshire Council which calls on community leaders to unite and oppose the plan.

Cllr Shotton said: “The VAT increase will hit pensioners and other low-income groups in Flintshire the hardest.”

He added: “I am hoping that all councillors in Flintshire can support the motion.”

Cllr Shotton wants the council to write to Chancellor George Osborne raising concerns about the increase and to call on Flintshire’s MPs to vote against it in Parliament.

Mike Learmond, regional co-ordinator for the Federation of Small Businesses, said traders were expecting a certain amount of pain in the current financial climate.

He said: “Nobody is happy about it but there could have been other measures that could have been worse such as increasing corporation tax and reducing capital gains allowance.

“We are not happy with any tax rise but a lot of trade is conducted between businesses and they can claim some of that back. This was widely expected.”