Owners Fight Proposed UK Horse Tax

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

29 September 2009

Horse riding associations across the UK have joined together in an effort to lobby the government’s proposal to impose an annual charge on horse owners in the UK.

The ‘Rethink the Horse Tax’ campaign was launched on September 28 by a coalition of organisations representing the UK's horse community, who have called upon all those involved in the industry to write to their constituency MPs, and sign an online petition to be sent to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

Campaigners are concerned that plans to create a new agency responsible for managing outbreaks of animal disease will place mounting costs on horse owners in the form of a new annual charge for each animal at a time when government support is being sought to help boost rural economies and encourage wider participation in outdoor sport.

Under the plans, horse owners would be charged alongside keepers of livestock farm animals such as sheep and pigs - despite the fact that a significant proportion of horses are kept for leisure and sporting, rather than commercial activities.

There are also concerns that the proposals would have a negative impact on the horseracing industry, which contributes GBP300m in annual taxation revenue to government coffers and already spends GBP750,000 each year on disease prevention and management, according to the coalition.

Campaigners have also highlighted the fact that the new body would spend much of its time collecting charges from people who own just one horse (65% of horse owners), meaning that the cost of physically collecting the charge will almost outweigh the charge itself - an estimated GBP2.3m would be needed to collect just GBP4.5m from horse owners under the plans, it is claimed.

The new body would cost GBP14.3m to set up and millions more to maintain in the coming years, according to the associations.

The campaign is urging the government to work with all sections of the equine community to find an alternative solution to managing animal disease.

Andrew Finding, Chief Executive of the British Equestrian Federation said:

"Through this campaign the horse community has an opportunity to make its voice heard and send a strong message to the government on cost sharing. The proposals just don't make a convincing case on how hitting horse owners with new costs and extra bureaucracy will benefit either the equine community or taxpayers in general."

Mark Weston, Director of Access Safety and Welfare at the British Horse Society, said:

"We need to make sure that politicians in Westminster are made fully aware of the potential damage that these proposals could do to the horse sector, and the lack of any perceived benefit that they would bring to the millions of Britons who enjoy horse riding each year.'

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