RAIN TAX" MUST GO SAYS DAVID HEATH
12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 16th Jul 2009
Ministers must intervene to ensure that the so-called "rain tax", a levy on surface water drainage applied to voluntary clubs and churches, is binned. That was the message in the House of Commons today from Liberal Democrat MP, who raised the issue with Leader of the House Harriet Harman.
The levy is being imposed by some water companies on voluntary bodies, sports clubs, charities and churches who have previously been exempt, and can mean a bill of hundreds or even thousands of pounds. The charge has led to a campaign supported by bishops, scouts and sportsmen to ask the government to intervene before it is taken up by water companies across the country.
Mr Heath said:
"It is a nonsense to introduce an extra charge, without any warning, that means that a scout hut suddenly incurs a bill of several hundred pounds, as an example. That's money which voluntary organisations simply don't have, and which they would need to raise by collecting, which would be no easy task, and means they can't do the good work they should be concentrating on.
In any case, the water companies make fat profits without squeezing the last drop out of struggling community organisations. They should be told in no uncertain terms that this particular tap is being turned off."
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