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Tax break hits stony ground
Page 14
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Guy Sheppard says trade groups can't agree on the impact of quarry tax relief.
A BI I I ER ROW has erupted between two rival trade associations over the government's decision to restrict relief on a new aggregates' tax to operators in Northern Ireland.
The Quarry Products Association (QPA) says cutting the levy from f1.60/tonne to 32p/tonne on virgin aggregates will effectively remove the competitive threat posed to the province by quarries in the Republic of Ireland, which should help tipper operators in the province.
Gordon Best. QPA regional manager for Northern Ireland, accuses the British Aggregates Association (BAA) of "stabbing Northern Ireland in the back" by complaining to the European Commission about the proposed reduction from April.
"Government figures show there was a 2.68 million tonne annual reduction in aggregates production in Northern Ireland when the levy was introduced in 2002." he says. "More than 200 jobs have been lost as well, including dozens in transport. A11,60 levy is effectively worth 20 miles of free transport, so if we get it down to 32p that is only four miles and is neither here nor there.
BAA director Robert Durward accepts that the levy has caused serious problems to Northern Ireland but says most of these problems apply across the rest of the UK as well: -We believe that continuing our legal challenge to the levy... is the best way to protect the interests of both the environment and independent quarry operators."
The aggregates levy is designed to encourage the reuse of construction and demolition waste in place of virgin aggregates.
However, the BAA says it has resulted in widespread tax evasion as well as "environmentally intrusive" spoil heaps because selling some quarry by-products is now no longer commercially viable.