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Fight is on to scrap new horse tax plans
HORSE riders, owners and breeders throughout the country are joining a campaign to urge the Government to think again about imposing what would effectively be a new tax on every horse owner in the United Kingdom.
The 'Rethink the Horse Tax' campaign, which has been launched by a coalition of organisations involved in the horse industry, is asking people to visit the campaign website by logging on at www.RethinktheHorseTax.org and sign an on-line petition to the Prime Minister as well as writing to their MPs.
The proposals from DEFRA involve setting up a new quango which would be charged with preventing and managing animal diseases.
It would be funded partly by the tax-payer and partly by the livestock and horse sectors by imposing a yearly registration fee per animal.
Horse owners would be charged on the same basis as farmers keeping sheep and pigs, for example, in spite of the fact that a significant proportion of horses are
kept for leisure and sport, rather than for commercial reasons.
Vets, who are also involved in the campaign, say that plans to create a new agency responsible for animal health could complicate the process of managing outbreaks of animal disease.
They are also concerned about a lack of clarity over the roles of the four chief veterinary officers in the proposals.
Campaigners point out that the new body, which would cost 14.3m to set up, would spend much of its time collecting charges (10.50 per horse) from people who own just one horse, which is 65 per cent of horse owners.
The proposed legislation is another worry for owners who are already under pressure in these uncertain economic times.
Equestrian Post reader Andrea Merrifield, who breeds Shetland ponies, says: "I and many other breeders are appalled by the proposals to introduce a horse tax. I will be contacting my MP and have signed the petition. Hopefully, other people will make their opinions known, too."
Alison Brown, who runs Friars Hill, a riding school and livery yard at Sinnington in North Yorkshire with over 30 horses, believes the tax would be a disaster.
" They made us all get (horse) passports, then we had to have all the horses micro-chipped and now we might have to pay a tax on top of all that. Plus things like feed and bedding costs are all going up. It's a nightmare and I don't know where it's all going to end."
The British Horse Society, one of the organisations involved in the campaign, says that burdening horse owners with new costs without justification
will have a negative impact on an industry which
makes a significant contribution to the UK economy in terms of
tax revenue and on the 270,000 people whose livelihoods depend on the horse sector.
For more information about the campaign go to: www.RethinktheHorseTax.org.
Gemma going from strength to strength
GEMMA Dickinson, 14, is proving to be one of the stars of the Yorkshire Wolds Riding for the Disabled group. Since joining the group, based in Driffield, three years ago, Gemma has shown she has a natural ability for riding and has proved what progress can be made by youngsters with learning disability. Gemma, pictured with Rocky, is among a group of children from Kings Mill School in Driffield who ride regularly at Chesney Riding School. She was a member of the RDA group's team of four when they competed in the national musical ride competition last year where they were placed fifth, quite an achievement for their first attempt. "Since then, Gemma's ability and riding skills have gone from strength to strength," says Judy Burdass, of the RDA. She began to have private lessons at the riding school and also spends Saturdays there, helping with mucking out, grooming and getting involved with anything that is going on. When the Yorkshire Wolds RDA took part in the 'World's Biggest Riding Lesson' in November, Gemma's whole family, totalling nine, took part with Gemma riding lead file on a horse she had never ridden before. "We are all extremely proud of Gemma," said Judy.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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