Products group calls for tax stabilisation

The Construction Products Association has called on Chancellor Gordon Brown to instigate a number of tax reforms and halt further taxation on business. 

President Roy Harrison, said:  "In recent years our industry has seen a raft of fiscal and regulatory measures that have cumulatively added substantially to industry costs. 

"While some of the stated objectives may be laudable, the way in which a number of tax measures have been implemented is onerous and serves to undermine the competitiveness of industry in this country."

Harrison said that he had also asked the government for a review of the Climate Change Levy (CCL). "We fundamentally oppose the way the CCL has been set up and as a matter of priority the government must establish whether the environmental objectives behind its introduction are being met," he said.   

"The government has set a target to ensure that 60% of all new housing provision is on brownfield sites. The costs and risks of decontaminating such sites can act as a significant deterrent to owners and developers alike. 

"I am, therefore, calling on the Chancellor to incentivise owners by offsetting the cost of cleaning up contaminated sites against their Corporation Tax liability," said Harrison.