Delegates to the IHBC’s 2014 School in Edinburgh were treated to a ‘soft’ launch of the first of the institute’s new Research Notes resource, on ‘Policy regarding VAT and historic buildings’, prepared by IHBC’s research notes consultant editor and lead author, Bob Kindred MBE, a publication complementing the IHBC’s partnerships with mainstream development interests in developing VAT reduction advocacy under the Cut the VAT campaign.
IHBC President Trefor Thorpe said: ‘This is an excellent review of and aide-memoire summarizing the entire background and current state of VAT insofar as it affects the historic environment. It will be essential reading for every conservation professional and, indeed, should also be that for every politician.
‘It’s vital that this sort of sound, logical, and well-presented pressure is applied and the screw progressively tightened if the Government and the Treasury are to be persuaded to rethink fiscal policy in this area’.
Bob Kindred said: ‘At times such as these, when resources to care for our precious legacy of built heritage have never been so scarce, resolving the VAT issue in favour of historic buildings becomes ever more important – offering a potential stimulus to the economy as well as a boost to jobs more generally.’
‘The research shows not only the benefits that would derive from reducing or abolishing VAT, but also the tortuous progress and unreasonableness of the tax on heritage assets from its inception.’
Download IHBC’s Research Note on Vat and heritage HERE
For the IHBC’s VAT-related initiatives in 2014 see links from HERE
For the Parliamentary launch of the research by IHBC and partners into ‘VAT relief for housing repairs’ see HERE
