16 COMMENT THE INDUSTRY ADVOCATE
Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders
IT’S TIME TO CUT VAT ON HOME IMPROVEMENT
Brian Berry of the FMB discusses why the upcoming Budget provides the perfect opportunity to cut VAT on home improvements and give a boost to small builders.
ith a majority of 80 MPs, this Government has the opportunity to put forward some radical policies that previous governments may have been too cautious to consider.
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When the UK has left the EU, the Government will have more control over certain policy areas such as VAT. The Government should seize this opportunity at the Budget on 11 March and support the campaign of more than 20 organisations from the property and built environment sectors to cut VAT on all home repair, maintenance, and management from 20 per cent to 5 per cent. This would incentivise homeowners across the country to upgrade their properties, giving a much-needed post-Brexit boost to local builders, but also helping to reduce carbon emissions and restore our heritage.
CUTTING VAT WILL HELP REACH NET ZERO The UK was the first country in the world to legislate a commitment to having net zero carbon emissions by 2050. To achieve this
THE UK HAS SOME OF THE LEAKIEST HOUSING STOCK IN EUROPE – WHICH WILL NEED RADICALLY UPGRADING
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will require many sectors of the economy to change the way they operate. A big contributor is the built environment with housing alone contributing to 20 per cent of the UK’s total carbon emissions.
While recent focus from the Government has been on new builds through the Future Homes Standard, it should not ignore the millions of existing homes. The UK has some of the leaki- est housing stock in Europe – which will need radically upgrading if we are to meet agreed energy efficiency targets. There are eight million lofts that need insulating; five million uninsulated cavity walls; and 20 million uninsulated floors. To incentivise homeowners the Government should cut VAT on all repair and maintenance so that tax doesn’t act as hindrance to them undertaking this work.
CUTTING VAT WILL HELP US RESTORE OUR HERITAGE
As well as being good for the environment, a cut to VAT on repair and maintenance would give a much needed boost our heritage sector.
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