UROC calls for delay in landfill tax changes

Skip hire sector trade body UROC has urged the government to delay its proposed changes to regulations around landfill tax rates until more responses have been gathered from the industry.

And, the United Resource Operators Consortium also warned that the legislation had the potential to damage communities if approved without further consultation, and that more guidance is needed on the test that operators are required to carry out to determine what can be classed as inert material.

The changes are due to come into force on November 11 2013 and a consultation on the guidance notes to go with the new rules is currently underway.

The tightening up of the rules covering trommel fines were announced in May last year by Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC). They would see fines from trommels and screens which in the past would have been charged the lower landfill tax rate of 2.50 for inert material, instead charged the full rate of 72 a tonne for active material.

Meanwhile, inert materials used to cover waste in landfill sites before they are capped, such as stone and soil, would also be taxed at the full rate.

Costs

Speaking to letsrecycle.com, UROC spokeswoman Jenny Watts argued that if the legislation comes into effect in November as planned, construction firms and householders would bear the brunt of the costs.

She said: We are concerned that this is going to put up the cost of waste disposal, for example through skip hiring firms and household waste. There is an impact on the individual household as well as business. A household with a skip could see their fees rise to an additional cost of 160. A household with a skip between two and five tonnes could result in a tax burden of anything up to 360.

This will affect DIY projects, such as arisings through skip hire and construction waste. It is also going to lead to an increase in flytipping, a problem regulators already seem to be incapable of dealing with.

Ms Watts went on to criticise the consultation put in place to acknowledge the concerns of the waste and recycling sector, a process which began on September 9 this year and is due to end on October 20.

She argued the informal consultation on guidance published last month (see letsrecycle.com story), demonstrated the governments unwillingness to consult experts on how landfill tax changes should be implemented.

Ambiguous

She said: This does not move on at all from where we were in 2012, it is not a comprehensive consultation as it doesnt reach everybody. It is somewhat ambiguous in its content generally.

I do not think the awareness has been raised and it is essential that operators actually read it. It has not left the industry enough time to look at it in detail to conduct a response. UROC is concerned the views of operators will not be taken into account and feedback with our members will not be taken into account.

Ms Watts explained that while UROC was not looking to abolish the proposals, more time was required so that HMRC could gather several hundred responses and would not rush through ill-considered legislation.

She added: We also think there is still work to be done on appropriately tested fines and UROC wants to be a part of that.