VAT on Listed Building alterations

The Chancellor George Osbourne last week introduced the proposal to scrap the zero-rating of VAT on listed building (consent) alterations.

I often used to advise people (in my local authority days) to apply for listed building consent for complete re-roofing, one of the advantages being that they could apply to the VAT office for zero-rating for this work. I am sure I was not the only one to do this and I don't know how successful they were in getting the work zero-rated, because the change was suppoosed to be self evident, but it worked for a while. We know that the system is crazy. This has been going on for decades and I have been dealing with it since 1987. Let's forget the moaning and debate and get an e-petition up and running, a well written one, to prevent this happening and not to undermine all our lobbying over the last 30 years. The petition I signed yesterday was not very professional.