VAT opportunity missed
The Chancellor has missed a golden opportunity to offer the UK construction industry a much needed end of year boost with his refusal not to change VAT on residential refurbishment – said the Get Britain Building (GBB) campaign – following the Pre Budget Report.
Get Britain Building is a pan-construction industry campaign determined to get government to recognise the value of the sector to the nation and to use it to rebuild the UK economy.
GBB has been campaigning for a cut in VAT to 5% on domestic works that include an element of ‘consequential improvements’ which deliver sustainability benefits. Such an initiative would not only generate activity in the domestic RMI environment, it would serve to improve the property asset base of the UK and assist the government in meeting its challenging 2020 and 2050 carbon reduction commitments.
The campaign also believes that not only would the VAT reduction measure be, at least, cost-neutral but also revenue-positive through the increased activity and by bringing more contractors into the formal economy. It is currently undertaking in-depth costing research to reinforce this contention.
