MPslams defib tax snub

A Renfrewshire MP has hit out at the UK Government for refusing to reduce tax on lifesaving defibrillator machines.

Currently, registered charities and local authorities who buy a defibrillator can apply for any VAT paid to be refunded from HMRC.

But businesses and community groups are forced to pay VAT at the full rate of 20 per cent - a huge cost for any voluntary organisation looking to install the lifesaving devices.

Defibrillators are particularly crucial in cases of cardiac arrest, when quick action and treatment is vital. Every minute that someone does not receive defibrillation reduces their chances of survival by ten minutes.

A cross-party group of over 50 MSPs wrote to the UK Chancellor last month, asking him to look again at the issue and extend the zero rate to more groups.

Despite support from MSPs from every party represented at Holyrood, the Chancellor has refused to extend the VAT exemption.

Renfrewshire Council has rolled out public defibrillators at every primary school in the county, providing an extra 50 machines available day or night when needed in an emergency.

The lack of action from the UK Government has been slammed as “pennypinching” by Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North.

He said: “I’ve submitted a Written Parliamentary Question asking exactly how much the Chancellor thinks he’ll save by making it harder for local community groups and businesses to help save lives.

“For all their talk of ‘taking back control,’ the Tories aren’t willing to use the powers they have to help communities who want to invest in their own health and safety.

“Renfrewshire Council have led by example locally by installing defibrillators at every primary school in our community, but there will always be locations where coverage can be extended.

“To slap a 20 per cent tax on these life-saving machines is penny-pinching and pig ignorant.

“If the UK can afford to give the Chancellor’s wife a free pass on paying her taxes, it can afford to make defibrillators cheaper and easier to access.

“It’s time the UK Government stepped up to the plate and made sure defibrillators are as widely available as possible.

“And that means stopping their moneygrubbing ways and removing VAT on these vital facilities.”