Written question asked by David Lidington (Conservative) on Tuesday, 8 January 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 January 2002. It was answered by Lord Boateng (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 January 2002 on behalf of the Treasury.

Treasury

Question: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to allow Macmillan Cancer Relief to recover VAT on its building costs incurred in respect of buildings which are owned or managed by the National Health Service. (Holding answer 16 January 2002).

Answer: Mr. Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to allow Macmillan Cancer Relief to recover VAT on its building costs incurred in respect of buildings which are owned or managed by the national health service. [26532] Mr. Boateng: [holding answer 16 January 2002]: The Government looked very carefully at the issue of irrecoverable VAT as part of the 1999 Review of Charity Taxation, concluding that to allow refund would be prohibitively expensive and would breach fundamental principles of VAT law. Customs are ready to provide help and advice to any charity experiencing VAT problems. They have recently written to the Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Relief and hope to meet the charity soon to discuss the VAT implications of their building programmes.

Secondary information