VAT VICTORY FOR ARBORETUM
Customs and Excise have finally backed down over VAT claims against the
National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas near Lichfield. This has resulted
in a tax saving to the charity of £100,000. "This was the very worst form
of stealth tax" says Michael Fabricant. "Customs and Excise were claiming
that donations of trees by war widows and others to the National Arboretum
to remember the war dead is a ‘taxable supply’ and should be charged VAT
just as if they were buying trees from a garden centre. This was
outrageous and I am delighted that Government Ministers saw sense and
co-operated with me in persuading Customs to drop the VAT claim. This is
indeed a victory for our war dead as well as for common sense."
The Founder of The Arboretum, David Childs, says: "I am delighted with the
outcome of this case. I had no doubt as to the rightness of our cause but
for our case to succeed it needed the very active involvement, at
ministerial level, of Michael Fabricant, to represent the logic of our
position, together with the technical arguments advocated by Deloitte &
Touche to back these up. In the end Customs & Excise proved most willing to
listen and very determined to end up with a solution acceptable to both
parties."