Scots ministers in fresh plea to axe police and fire service VAT bills
The Scottish Government has put further pressure on the Treasury to scrap VAT bills for the police and fire service.
The single Scottish police and fire services became liable for the tax after merging from regional into national organisations. Ministers say it means Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service still face an annual VAT cost of around £35 million per year. Finance Secretary Derek Mackay argues such a situation is “unacceptable”.
A UK government spokeswoman said: “Before the Scottish Government made the decision to make Scotland’s police and fire services national, they were told this would mean that those services would become ineligible for VAT refunds.”