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Energy-saving products should be incentivised. They may be our future - they aren't luxury goods.While I agree that FiT rates need to be kept at sensible levels (45p is far too much, 16p is slightly too little) in order to balance the subsidy from other consumers against an incentive to keep solar progressing from a break-even technology to a profitable technology, I see no harm to anyone by waiving VAT for renewables.
 
I've raised it with one of my customers (he happens to sit on a red leather seat in Westminster) and he is more than happy to rasie this as it is in his own words 'right up my street'.

Sorry guys, I can't do much more than that ...

Perhaps we need the whole of the Renewable Energy industry to shout about this one..
 
This would kill the domestic and charity and community market in solar only leaving the commercial sector viable
unless the government were to increase FIT's by 15% to compensate - after all, the extra 15% vat would be going to government coffers so it's only fair.
 
Dear Emer Traynor,

You're listed as a contact on the press release for the EC statement relating to the UK's reduced VAT rates for energy saving products, so I'd appreciate it if you would pass this email to whoever has come up with this ridiculous proposal.

If it is true that energy efficiency and renewable energy installations are not specifically listed as being services that should be rated at the reduced VAT rate, then this is something that the EC itself should be looking to change urgently, instead of attempting to enforce rules that obviously run entirely counter to the EU's stated policies on energy efficiency and renewable energy uptake.

There are thousands of you being paid good wages in the EU bureaucracy. Surely between you it should have been possible for someone to realise this was a decision that would be completely counter productive, and that the fault is in the EU legislation, not in the UK government's position.

I've always considered myself to be pro-EU, but decisions like this would make even me question the wisdom of being a member of an organisation that was this incompetent.

Please get your act together.
I sent this email to the contact listed on the press release [email protected]

they may well only be the PR person, but at if they get a lot of emails about this they'll probably pass this on to those who matter.

I'd urge everyone to contact their MPs and MEPs about this via WriteToThem - Email or fax your Councillor, MP, MEP, MSP or Welsh, NI, London Assembly Member for free and bear in mind that most of them probably know nothing of this, and are actually likely to be on our side this time.

I think the line to take with this is that it's the EU legislation that needs amending to allow energy saving and renewable energy installations at the reduced vat rate, to be in line with the reduced vat rate on gas / electricity, and to match with stated EU priorities on renewable energy uptake and energy efficiency.

Applying the letter of the law to the UK would be seriously counter productive to those stated goals.
 
So lets get this straight. The feed in tariff was reduced to 21p to reflect the fact that the installed KWh price of solar had dropped significantly, a further reduction of the tariff to 16p is imminent because solar prices are still falling, yet it appears that shortly after the next tariff cut there may be approximately 15% added to overall installation costs.

Smart move, that will really kick start the industry.

For those of you that intend to write letters/emails trying to avert this I would like to let you know that where EU law on VAT is concerned the UK will have to follow, and there can only be a debate in parliament if they receive a petition with 250,000 signatures.

I found this out when I realised that there was VAT of 20% on a childs' headstone. David Cameron himself has received letters regarding this and has said, more or less, that there is nothing that can be done because it is EU law.

Anything that is deemed unnecessary is subject to VAT.
 
Hold up guys, Can't find the link but have read since that the EU have basically told us of a loophole we can use or something of that nature, will try and find it
 

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