Villagers appeal directly to Prime Minister over VAT

RESIDENTS who raised £150,000 to transform facilities at their village hall have petitioned the Prime Minister after they claim the Government broke promises to them and hit the scheme with a 20 per cent “VAT bombshell”.

Volunteers who run Pannal Memorial Hall, near Harrogate, say they have been left reeling in shock following the tax increase and say they will now no longer be able to afford to finish the scheme, which would have included a new children’s play area and improved disabled access.

Chairman of the group Pat Fitzgerald, has now written to David Cameron urging him to intervene.

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“This is a real bombshell for us and will mean that we won’t be able to complete all the work we planned because we now have to take £25,000 out of our funds just to pay for VAT,” he said.

“We are a group of volunteers doing this work for nothing.

“We feel as if we are being kicked in the teeth by the government.”

The group have been working on the scheme, to convert the old caretaker’s cottage into community rooms, for the past two years and have raised much of the money through grants which have to be spent on specific areas of work.

An HM Revenue and Customs spokeswoman said: “Charities and not-for-profit organisations can qualify for exemptions from VAT providing they meet the strict required criteria.”