B&C Council slams VAT on fares plan
Page 16
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• The Bus & Coach Council has denounced European Community plans to impose VAT on bus and coach fares as being contradictory to Government policy, which is to reduce inflation and public expenditure through the deregulation of bus services.
Speaking at the BCC's annual dinner last week, president Irwin Dalton warned: "It could mean that the hard-won benefits and fragile stability we have achieved since deregulation could be lost overnight."
The industry, claimed Dalton, was puzzled by the Government's motives after devoting so much energy to reducing inflation and public expenditure through bus deregulation, and VAT on fares would be paid mostly by those who could least afford it, he predicted.
The subsequent fare increase would have to be greater than the added tax if the industry was to maintain its profit level, said Dalton. Marginal services would probably have to be closed down as they would be no longer viable, so the VAT on fares might even lead to a nett cost to the government as further subsidies would have to be made to support reduced services.