VAT cut could lower cost of house improvements

Tuesday, March 23rd 2010

Housing improvements should be made more affordable by a VAT cut, the British Property Federation (BPF) has insisted.

And 21 other organisations have joined the Cut the VAT Coalition, which is pleading with the government to reduce the tax paid on maintenance and home improvement work from 17.5 per cent to five per cent.

The move would lead to more jobs and improve housing quality, the BPF claimed.

Residential chairman at the organisation Alan Collett commented: "Other European countries have been tripping over themselves to use these new powers to reduce VAT."

He gave the example of France and said that the chancellor should follow the lead of president Sarkozy.

More than 24,000 jobs would be created in the construction sector alone, with an extra 31,000 in other industries.

The Cut the VAT Coalition also claims that the move would assist the government's carbon emissions target of an 80 per cent cut by 2050.