CAMPAIGN FOR
VAT RELIEF
VAT was the issue that spurred our campaign after the 2012 tax changes. In the last parliament it continued to dominate our policy agenda as first priority in the APPG and top of our owners’ manifesto sent to MPs ahead of the 2017 election.
The Club launched our VAT petition in the summer of 2018 and it was a huge success. More than 10,000 owners rallied behind us, the largest ever petition on listed buildings, in a huge show of support for the cause. The scale of the response prompted an official statement from the treasury regarding tax reform and forcing them to acknowledge the need to better support private owners.
Throughout the summer the Club continued to gather evidence and press for reform, finally carrying this success forward to the Heritage Alliance Tax Working Group. The size of our petition publicly proved that the Club represents by far the largest number of people within the group, and that we had a clear aim to deliver reforms.
Throughout 2019 we have continued to work with the Tax Working Group, supporting smaller initiatives for VAT relief that we hope will lead to reducing VAT on all approved works. The Club has strongly supported initiatives like Heritage Action Zones, which we have fought to expand, and to make them more accessible to private owners.
The Club has also stood behind the creation of a full economic study of VAT relief to answer Treasury criticisms of the scheme. This will prove that any reductions in tax revenue are slight, and are more than offset by the increase in maintenance work and importance of protecting historic buildings. We are pushing for this study to be commissioned directly by Historic England, and that figures produced will be presented to the new government as their official advice.
While returning VAT relief for owners is our primary goal, even that would not be the end of our campaign. The pre- 2012 regime did not help owners carrying out minor works at all, with relief only offered if works needed consent. Even
then, owners had to convince tradesmen that they could remove VAT from invoices, and there was never an option to claim it back.
A more significant change is needed for the future, such as used by Living Cities. The ability to offset maintenance costs against other taxes is an option that would equally encourage large and small works, and it would make the conservation pound go much further. It would also be a more granular scheme, where relief could be more easily adjusted.
A FULL TIME JOB
As our campaign progressed through the last parliament, we saw that there was a real need to have someone in the Club working full time on the issues that impact owners. Influencing groups like Historic England and government departments needs constant effort, as well as in depth political knowledge. To ensure our campaign continued to grow, the Club hired our Campaign Officer, Sam Doohan, in January 2019.
Sam works full time on our campaign, focusing on policy formulation, in-depth research and engaging with official bodies to support our reforms. As a member, if you have ideas or suggestions for reforms then you can take them directly to Sam. He is also there to answer any questions you have about the campaign, and to talk you through the Club’s full policy positions.
Your input helps to ensure our campaign is supporting real owners, so we always want to hear about your challenges. Whether you want to learn more about our efforts, discuss a policy in greater depth, or tell him about a specific challenge you’ve had; you can always contact him at 01795 844 939 or
sam@lpoc.co.uk.
OWNERS
WE NEED YOUR HELP
If you support our goals, tell your friends and neighbours about our campaign and recommend they join us. Our campaign is working to help all listed building owners across the whole UK, and every new member strengthens our call for reform.
Club members get the full news and analysis from our campaign in every issue of Listed Heritage, as well as the chance to shape our campaign strategy and bring up the issues that have affected them.
As you can imagine this task is very expensive which is why we need your help. We’re not asking you for
money but if you could give some thought to moving your home insurance to the Club’s providers they will pass an introductory fee back to us and it is this fee that will finance our efforts.
As the policies they offer provide an exceptional combination of reasonable cost and comprehensive cover, it’s a true win/win situation.
Please call us on 01795 844939 or e-mail your current policy’s renewal date to
kirstie@lpoc.co.uk and we’ll contact you at the appropriate time.
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