Insurance News Archive

VAT cut 'would lead to fewer rogue builders' for home repairs

Posted by Judith Stevenson

Buy to let buildings insurance holders could get fewer rogue builders and be more able to make repairs to their home if the VAT on home improvements was cut, an expert has claimed.

Alex Hawkes, news editor at industry website Construction News, said that the move would boost the sector and help to differentiate between builders who do not pay VAT and those who do.

He was commenting on a report from the Cut the VAT coalition, which said that reducing VAT to five per cent would boost the construction sector and lead to £17 billion being added to the economy over the next decade and 81,500 jobs being created.

Mr Hawkes added that he thinks the repair and refurbishment sector will see a boost this year anyway, as more organisations and buy to let buildings insurance holders look to do up houses rather than build new ones.

24 Feb 2010