Douglas Carswell's Blog

And now a caravan tax? Please tell me it isn't so

And so it goes on. First we learned that tucked away in the small print of the budget was a “pasty tax”. Then a child benefit cliff edge. Then a penalty against charitable giving.

Now I learn that the budget will slap 20 percent VAT on to static holiday caravans. 

Mobile caravans – the things people tow along the slow lane of motorways – have always been VAT able. But static holiday caravans – the kind of thing lots of families use for bucket-and-spade holidays – will now be made 20 percent more expensive.

Which Treasury ministers do you suppose went into public life with the idea of whacking up tax on static caravans? None, of course. This idea clearly came from the Treasury officials, who put it to ministers as a way of raising more money. 

But does that not suggest that ministers are being run by the Treasury, rather than running the Treasury?

If ministers want to simplify the tax system and remove loop holes - which they no doubt cite as justification for this latest move - excellent.  But why not try doing it by extending the tax breaks?  Why is tax simplification always taken to mean more taxes at the Treasury?

And why, do you suppose, not even Gordon Brown got around to doing this during all that time in the Treasury? 

What will be the impact of this measure? The Treasury says it will raise £45 million over five years. Almost enough to meet the cost of Baroness Ashton’s swanky new office in Brussels, which ministers agreed to pay for.

And who do you think this measure will affect most? The kind of people who holiday in the smarter parts of the Mediterranean? Or ordinary families in places like Clacton?

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