Our Practice has lobbied central Government to reduce VAT on all home repair, maintenance and improvement work, from 20%, to 5%. The “Cut the VAT” Campaign is lead by Federation of Master Builders, and has been developed to encourage economic growth.
Imagine the impact a VAT rating has when extending your home? That means, if you were to spend £50,000 on a new home extension, you would have to reserve at least £8,000 for VAT. This could be the cost of a new Kitchen, or a redecoration. A 15% reduction would mean that money was available for you to spend on your home improvements.
With the increasing in fuel prices, 5% VAT rating would also mean that homeowners would have more money to spend on improving the thermal efficicency of their homes. This could help finance new double glazing, or a new boiler.
And it’s worth remembering, if your project becomes financially viable, that is work that our local builders, suppliers and tradespeople can benefit from. The increase in workload therefore helps our local economy, and inevitably, helps our local companies hire more employees.
For more information about the campaign, visit the Federation of Master Builders‘ website.