In the past few days some national newspapers have been crowing about the part they and their readers played in getting the Government to back down on certain tax proposals.
This week the Government changed its mind about some of the VAT changes announced in the March Budget speech.
1) The much derided so called ‘pasty tax’ rules have been revised to remove certain hot foods from the threat of VAT increases. For those involved in selling takeaway food it will now be necessary to pay close heed to the rules as they progress to the statute book to see what will and will not be affected by the changes.
2) There was also a ‘U-turn’ with regard to the proposed imposition of a 20% VAT liability on static caravans which has now been revised to 5%.
3) The £30 million the Government will contribute to a fund for churches to call on to help ease the burden of the VAT changes for alterations to listed buildings is argued by some to have also been as a result of fierce lobbying.
4) We will have to see whether the major concerns voiced by the charitable sector, with regard to the proposed ‘relief capping’ rules, will be encompassed in the consultation documentation we hope to see over the summer.
These developments raise two issues: lobbying can seemingly pay off; and the tax rules, proposed and existing, can change in an instant with the result that it always pays to be up to date with proactive input from all your professional advisers.
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