C+D has launched a campaign to reverse the government's decision to exclude independent pharmacies from its £2,000 Employment Allowance tax break.

C+D has drafted a letter that pharmacists can download and send to their local MP to urge them to raise the issue in parliament.

The NPA, Independent Pharmacy Federation and Numark have already written to the government to ask it to reconsider its policy, which they argue has not been thought through.

Most independent pharmacies are exempt from the allowance, which came into force on April 6, because they receive more than half their income from the NHS and are therefore seen as public sector businesses, C+D has learned.

Download C+D's letter and call on your MP to lobby the government to make independent pharmacies eligible for its £2,000 Employment Allowance	More on the Employment Allowance Gemma Collins: Not all small businesses are equal Sector lambasts ‘prejudiced' tax break Independent pharmacies excluded from business tax break
	Umesh Modi, partner at accountancy firm Silver Levene, called the exclusion "ridiculous" and urged the sector to act. "I will be telling my clients to write to their local MP. This is ridiculous, it doesn't make sense. [Contractors] are running a business, they are employing people. The whole point was to encourage employment. How does this encourage employment?"

The Treasury told C+D it keeps all tax policies "under review". "We are actively engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure the Employment Allowance is successfully delivered," a spokesperson said.

You can find a copy of the letter, as well as details of how to contact your MP, on C+D's campaign page.

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