Council slammed in VAT cuts row (From Stourbridge News)

Council slammed in VAT cuts row

11:05am Wednesday 10th December 2008

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DUDLEY Council has been slammed for not passing on recession busting cuts in VAT to customers.

The change came into effect on December 1, after Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a two-and-a-half per cent cut in the tax, which he said was “to provide support and protection to families” during the economic downturn.

Dudley Council chiefs chose not to fully pass the change onto users of services including Crystal Leisure Centre in Stourbridge.

The council says the cost of making changes is too high however Stourbridge MP Lynda Waltho believes more should be done to pass the cut on to customers.

Mrs Waltho, said: “The whole point of the reductions was to make things easier during difficult times.

“If business can do that I don’t understand why the council can’t, if they are not able to amend prices it is a ridiculous state of affairs.”

A spokesman for Dudley Council said: “Where goods are advertised exclusive of VAT we will be making the appropriate changes to the price.

“However, where goods and services are advertised including VAT we will not be making the small changes to the cost to customers because of the significant costs in doing that, but the reduced VAT rate will be taken into account when we do our normal annual price review for 2009.”

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