Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL)
Work continues to help ensure that, before the Furnished Holiday Letting Rules are repealed in April 2010, steps are taken to ensure that the UK's self-catering sector is not adversely impacted.
Within Parliament, 95 MPs have signed an EDM that calls on Government to review this policy with the All Party Tourism Group lending its support. Outside Parliament, the Federation for Small Businesses is opposing the proposed repeal in recognition of the impact that the closure of self-catering premises will have on supply businesses such as builders, retailers and cleaners while the NFU has added its support in recognition of the impact on farmers, who have been encouraged by the government to diversify away from agriculture and into tourism by opening self-catering premises on their properties.
Further support for the tourism industry's position has been received from the Rural Shops Alliance, concerned about the impact on already hard-pressed village and neighbourhood shops, the Government's own rural affairs adviser, the Commission for Rural Communities, Regional Development Agencies as well as local and regional authorities in recognition of the economic impact that repealing the Rules would have on their local economy especially in areas such as the South West.
In meetings with Treasury and HMRC and with the Tourism Minister, three options have been put forward for the resolution of this issue;
Extend and Raise the Thresholds for the Rules
Classify Self-catering as a Trading Business (subject to certain criteria)
Easing HMRC Guidance on Defining Trading Businesses
These will be pursued when the draft legislation and guidance on the repeal of the Rules is issued as part of the Pre Budget Report due in mid to late November.
(Excerpt from Tourism Alliance October 2009 newsletter)
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