Garage bosses claim automatic car washes in the UK are being put out of business by Eastern Europeans who do the job by hand. The Petrol Retailers Association has complained that the hand wash firms may be cheap, but this is partly because the work is often done cash in hand. In many cases no VAT is being charged and the people behind the businesses do not keep accounts or pay any tax.
The Association estimates that the Treasury may be missing out on at least £200 million a year because many set-ups hire unregistered foreign workers while failing to pay taxes, National Insurance or business rates. Garage owners said that the number of car-washing machines has more than halved in the past 15 years.
In a report submitted to the government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the industry body said that hand car washing now employs up to 30,000 people and ‘provides a haven for illegal and unregistered foreign workers’. The report also claims these workers are being put at risk because they are using powerful chemicals that are then flushed into the sewers.
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