BAA demands full review of aggregates levy

THE British Aggregates Association has written to the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, demanding that the Treasury conducts a full public review of the aggregates levy. In a detailed submission prepared ahead of the Budget, the BAA says the levy is causing severe problems for many of its members and is failing to deliver the environmental benefits promised.

The submission also highlights the fall in aggregates sales in Northern Ireland and calls for the abandonment of the levy in the Province. Other issues raised include the destruction of many local markets for aggregate by-products and the difficulties faced by small businesses in particular in implementing the levy.

The BAA is calling on the Chancellor to urgently tackle the problem of unsold by-products and to seriously consider exempting aggregate by-products from the levy. The Association also argues that phased accounting systems for small companies would help alleviate some of the serious cash-flow problems experienced by many of its members.

BAA director Robert Durward commented: ‘More and more evidence continues to emerge that the aggregates levy is damaging the industry and not helping the environment. Small businesses have been particularly hard hit.

‘Given the number of important criticisms of the levy, the Treasury should urgently conduct a full-scale review of its economic and environmental impacts.

‘The BAA has proposed a number of policy initiatives, now that the levy has been implemented, to promote its members’ interests. However, the Association continues to believe that there is ultimately no sensible alternative to scrapping the levy altogether,’ he said.