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Time to axe VAT on safety products
Safety in our homes is not a luxury and should not be taxed at the maximum rate, writes Tom Dacey
I attended the launch of the Axe Safety Tax campaign in parliament last month.
It’s a worthy campaign, launched by gas safety technology company Gas Tag, urging the government to abolish VAT on all safety products and services that go into UK homes.
This includes smoke alarms, annual gas safety checks, fire assessments, carbon monoxide detectors and retrofitting of sprinklers.
These life-saving items are being treated as luxuries. Since when did safety become reserved for only those who can afford it? Have we not learned lessons from recent tragic events?
“There is a strong ethical argument for removing VAT charged on products and services whose sole purpose is to save lives.”
The tax raised annually on these products and inspections is costing the housing sector in excess of £200m each year.
I believe there is a strong ethical argument for removing VAT charged on products and services whose sole purpose is to save lives.
Annual MOT inspections, which are also intended to save lives, are zero-rated – as are safety products in newly constructed homes.
In stark contrast, when a landlord, tenant or homeowner of an existing property buys these products, the price is inflated by a 20% VAT charge.
Grenfell was a wake-up call. In the light of it, at Southern Housing Group, we have revised all our asset management policies and investments in health and safety.
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For example, we have condensed our five-year programme of works to replace fire doors into three years.
Not every organisation will be able to afford it, so why not give them a 20% rebate which will allow them to spend the money saved on safety, so nothing like the Grenfell fire ever happens again?
If the Axe Safety Tax campaign is successful, we would see it as a dividend on health and safety work that we are already investing in. It may allow us to replace fire doors in our properties in 18 months/two years rather than three years.
There is a wider moral argument to consider.
A recent study by National Energy Action found that low-income households are most at risk from carbon monoxide poisoning as they cannot afford to service, repair or replace gas appliances.
The fact is that a large number of households in fuel poverty have none of these safety products installed or have old, broken and unreliable products in their homes, much of this due to the cost. This is literally a matter of life and death.
Tax should not cost lives. By removing VAT, we are helping to make safety more affordable for all, not just for the few.
It was encouraging to see so much support at the launch event in parliament from housing associations, councils, private landlords and MPs, including shadow secretary of state for housing John Healey; Labour MP Yvonne Fovargue; and Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, an independent crossbench member of the House of Lords who has a long-standing interest in promoting carbon monoxide safety.
There are also a number of high-profile individuals backing the campaign: Paddy McGuinness and Midge Ure no less! But we all need to get behind this campaign to make sure that safety is no longer a luxury for the few.
As landlords, we not only have a legal obligation to keep people safe, but also a moral one.
The fact that safety is taxed at the maximum rate is unjustifiable.
I’m backing the Axe Safety Tax campaign and I’m asking other housing associations and councils to give their backing and support too.
Tom Dacey, chief executive, Southern Housing Group
