UK Government welcomes a loss of £275m in tax revenue

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) December 15, 2011 -- A study conducted by energy consultants Element Energy has suggested the UK government’s proposed cuts to the solar feed-in tariff (FIT) will destroy 29,000 jobs and cost the treasury up to £275m annually in lost tax revenue.

The investigation was commissioned by Friends of the Earth and the Cut Don’t Kill campaign and stated the sector currently provides £275m to the government from employment taxes and VAT, with even more coming through corporation tax.

Howard Johns, of the Cut Don’t Kill campaign, said, ‘The government are forging ahead with a cut which is going to cost the Treasury a fortune, as well as devastate a thriving industry. It is madness at a time when David Cameron’s priorities are deficit reduction and delivering growth to enact a proposal which will make the deficit and the economic situation worse. This study shows that the tariff cut is utterly counterproductive for the Government – added to which tens of thousands of workers are facing redundancy before Christmas. This was meant to be the greenest gvernment ever, but if they push ahead with their plans they will become famous only for shooting themselves in the foot.’

Andy Atkins, executive director of Friends of the Earth, added, ‘Government plans to slash solar incentives will devastate a thriving industry and pull the plug on thousands of jobs. In a time of economic gloom, the solar industry has been one of the UK’s brightest success stories, enabling homes and communities across the country to free themselves from expensive fossil fuels. We believe the gvernment’s proposals are not only wrong, they’re also illegal – which is why we are taking Ministers to court.’

Earlier this week,managing director of Ploughcraft Chris Hopkins spoke to NewNet explaining why he feels the impact of the cuts is being overstated. He suggested job losses in the sector will not be as severe as many expect and that it will mainly be the newer companies in the market who experience difficulty.

HM Revenue and Customs     job losses     Solar Photovoltaic Market     solar power     solar PV market     solar uk     uk government     uk solar installers