To: Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the in the Spring Budget
Maintenance, Repair and Recycling businesses should be VAT free
Poor maintenance and high costs of repair often mean that products are discarded when they could be repaired to give many more years of functional life. When discarded into already limited landfill sites, many potentially useful components are lost forever. These resources are finite and many are already becoming more difficult and expensive to exploit. Our government should have the courage to lead the way in changing the emphasis on economic growth and look for ways to make our lifestyles more sustainable and to benefit future generations as we have benefited. Removing VAT from all Maintenance, Repairs and Recycling would be a start.
Why is this important?
We are all aware of the way products are often not worth repairing, because those costs are greater than buying replacements. Many things which could be repaired end up in landfill sites, with potentially valuable components being lost forever.
Our world has finite resources. Already some rare minerals are becoming more difficult and expensive to mine, as well as being extremely damaging to human health and the environments in the areas around the mines. Populations have expanded exponentially over the last few decades and we, in the developed world, should accept that we can no longer consume so much of those resources often to the detriment of other peoples. By looking after and maintaining what we have, we will be helping to make a more sustainable future for our children and further generations. Making Maintenance, Repairs and Recycling cheaper by removing VAT will begin that process.
