No VAT relief on district's car-parking fees

MOTORISTS using St Albans District Council car parks will not benefit from the temporary cut in VAT. Although local councils pay 17.5 per cent VAT on money they make from off-street parking, most are not adjusting their parking tariffs to cover the 2.5

MOTORISTS using St Albans District Council car parks will not benefit from the temporary cut in VAT.

Although local councils pay 17.5 per cent VAT on money they make from off-street parking, most are not adjusting their parking tariffs to cover the 2.5 per cent reduction.

A district council spokesperson confirmed that in common with other councils, there were no current plans to amend the charges, not least because it would mean people having to find odd sums of money to pay to park.

But she stressed that if the VAT charge had been increased, the council would not have put up parking charges either.

First Capital Connect (FCC) has put back the introduction of 2009 tariff changes by one month to cover the VAT reduction.

Instead of increases in car-parking charges coming into force on January 1, they will now be delayed until February 1 as a gesture of goodwill.

A spokesman said that FCC, which operates the Thameslink line, had looked at the impact on car-park tariffs of the reduction but the software changes to car-park ticket machines were complex and would take a number of weeks to complete.

He added: "There is also signage and other infrastructure changes over our 50-plus car parks."

Revised car-park tariffs for next year are expected to be announced before Christmas.