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'Skip Tax': Consumers to be Dumped with the Duty

On the 18th of May 2012 the HMRC issued guidelines stating that Landfill Tax was being increased from £2.50 to £64 per tonne; a tax rise of 2640%! To you and I this means typical prices per skip have gone from around £200 to upwards of £500 - potentially adding thousands to the cost of home improvements.

Skip Tax - Dumping the Duty

To add further insult to the industry the tax hike was issued from the Government without any consultation to stakeholders within the construction industry and seemingly no understanding of the knock on effects. We and our several of regular customers are outraged and baffled by this ill-conceived and potentially highly damaging policy.

Environmental Impact

Even if you didn't have building works going on in your home, local neighbourhoods are likely to see more and more building waste being dumped illegally, causing greater social and environmental harm.

In addition to this landfill operators also rely on the building industry for the non-hazardous top layer on landfill sites so there is a risk of the environment being exposed to more hazardous materials and chemicals, as less building waste will be being disposed of with due care at landfill sites. The increase in tax discourages skip companies from trying to separate hazardous and non-hazardous types of waste, as it is now costing them the same amount to dispose of both, and so will have a harmful impact on the environment.

Calling for Consultation

Affleck have sent experienced construction industry professional Paul Rayment to lobby with the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in Parliament and encourage the Government to rethink their approach. We have urged the government to suspend the tax on landfill for a further 6 months, allowing for a full consultation with the construction industry. We are proposing an intermediate tax along with other alternatives, with a 'phase-in' of these taxes to allow the industry make allowances for such a radical change.

Update

The media claim the Government have made a U-turn on tax rates, as a result of Paul's and the FMB's firm and qualified opposition. The HMRC have clarified that the tax increase for non-hazardous waste will not increase, however more clarity is still needed on the criteria materials will be subjected to.

To save a deluge of illegal dumping and major price hike for consumers, landfill operators and skip companies must be engaged to find ways of reducing their rates, as well as improving the environmental effect of waste disposal. Support our demand for fairer taxes on an important, yet struggling, industry so that we can provide you, our customers, with an efficient, environmentally sound and economic service.