Petition to lower VAT for repair and mainenance please sign.

[ross fraser]

Hi everyone.

Sorry for the random posting, but I am looking for your help!

I am currently working on petitioning the government to reduce the VAT on building and repair materials to 5% from its current 17.5% status.

What would this mean?

A reduction of VAT to 5% in this area would not only assist individuals and businesses with maintaining and improving their existing properties but, by increasing the amount of building and maintenance repair work undertaken, this move will also be keeping the nation=92s highly skilled employees in work during these difficult times. These trades people are a valuable asset to the industry as a whole and this is a vital opportunity to maintain and stimulate employment levels in the wider market.

In addition to this

A cut in VAT for home maintenance would also encourage people to undertake energy efficient improvements to their properties, which they may have previously discounted as too costly. This in turn would assist the government in meeting its target of reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050.

The ironic thing about this is that there is whilst building new properties is exempt from VAT, the standard rate of 17.5% VAT is payable on building repair and maintenance.

What can you do?

If you have two minutes could you visit the petition page

and fill in your details, I am trying to get 10'000 votes by April the 14th so your vote will really help!

We also have a facebook fanpage that you can become a member of to show your support.

thanks Ross

[Bruce]

>Many thanks Ross

A good idea but your timing could not be worse.

VAT is likely to have to go up to 20% to reduce the UK's indebtedness. So now is not the time to expect any reduction in taxes.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Well, everyone would like all taxes to go down, but you haven't actually justified this one. You would need to show how the reduction in VAT will achieve the aims you mention. It's not obvious to me that a reduction in materials costs would have impact on stimulating the building trade, where wages are the largest cost.

In terms of energy efficiency, heat pump heating systems already attract only 5% VAT, and government pressure on energy company's subsidies has seen effective cost reductions of 50-66% in the costs of some insulation materials through BOGOFF, so again I struggle to see how a VAT reduction would make any significant improvement here.

In terms of home maintenance, I don't think many of the people who undertake this would be significantly swayed by such a small change in materials costs.

Furthermore, total tax take isn't going to drop for probably the next 10 years minimum (most likely, quite the opposite), so if you suggest reducing a tax, without saying which other tax you'll be raising to restore total tax take, or what other measures you'll take to compensate, or show how the tax reduction will cover its costs via some other route, your case isn't justified.

I'm not saying it's impossible to put together a valid case to justify what you're asking for, but that hasn't been done. Like many of the No 10 petitions, it simply hasn't been thought through well enough. It's something I might have given some consideration to supporting if a better case had been presented which actually managed to convince me it's a good idea.

[Huge]

And even if it had, it will be ignored like all the No.10 petitions.

[John Rumm]

Yup, I would agree with that. An 8.5% reduction in material (note not project) costs is not going to have enough effect on the decision making process (you really need 20 - 30% reduction in project costs as a minimum to achieve that - and even zero % VAT would not make that happen on total project costs) certainly would! I am also sceptical that there is much business stimulus to be achieved from manipulating the VAT rate

- especially since any VAT registered business will reclaim their VAT on materials purchases anyway.

[John Rumm]

Unless they get >= 750K responses... then they are obliged to formally register that they have looked at it (and are ignoring it and doing their own sweet thing regardless).

[John Rumm]

or 12.5% even! Doh!

[Roger Mills]

In my experience, they *do* reply after the closing date - even to those petitions which only attract a few signatures. But the result is invariably the same! I reckon they must employ a whole army of people who job it is to dream up compelling or implausible (take your pick!) reasons for refusing to do any of the things asked for in petitions.

Having said that, I have to agree that this particular petition doesn't have a cat in hell's chance - both because of the current economic climate and because it hasn't been cost-justified.

[Andrew May]

10.68% shirley?

[Man at B&Q]

You are off message. There will be no new taxe rises under a labour government. They said so themselves ;-)

[Dave]

support.http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rok-Repairing-Scotland/353891438971>>> Many thanks Ross

a Labour MP is moving his lips, he is lying. Come to that, if any MP is moving his lips, he is lying.

Dave

[Huge]

If a *policitician* is moving his lips, he's lying.

[geoff]

Or ... the corollary

I knew he was lying, his lips were moving

[Pete Verdon]

...at our expense.

Pete

[Owain]

And "no new tax rises" is not the same as "no tax rises" or "no new taxes".

Owain

[Mark]

A VAT cut would help DIY'ers more though since labour costs are not (usually) significant. I'd like to see a vat cut on all spares to encourage people to repair things rather than throw them away.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Id go far further.

Make VAT the ONLY tax. No tax on ownership of assets (car tax, council tax etc etc.),no tax on making a profit or capital gain, No tax on savings, above all no tax on WORK.

Put it on NEW goods and perhaps spare parts. And of course houses. Sell a house. Pay VAT. Claim it back when you sell it again - or offset it against the purchase VAT of a new house.

Take it OFF one man businesses food and essentials.

Bias the whole economy towards WORK and SAVINGS and away from state handouts.

Make saving profitable, repairing cost effective, and spending ruinously expensive, especially on cheap imported goods.

[NT]

What level of VAT would that work out at?

NT

[geoff]

In message , Mark writes

Can't have that - think of the poor manufacturers

[The Natural Philosopher]

not many of them in this country are there?

So sod em I say.