10-07-10 - "Horse Tax" Dead and Buried

Organisations across the horse community have formally welcomed the news that controversial proposals to hit horse owners with a new ‘tax-in-all-but-name’ have been dropped by the Government.

The Rethink the Horse Tax campaign has helped to ensure that the draft Animal Health Bill, a major step towards the creation of a horse tax when it was launched by Labour earlier this year, will now no longer be taken forward by the Government.

Owners, breeders and riders across the horse community came together to oppose the proposals as part of the campaign, expressing concerns about the potential impact of extra bureaucracy and mounting costs that a horse tax would impose. Almost 13,000 people signed a Rethink the Horse Tax e-petition to the Prime Minister, with many also writing personally to MPs and Ministers on the issue. The Government will now wait for the findings of an independent cross-industry group before deciding on an alternative way forward.

Professor Timothy Morris, Chairman of the BHIC stated:

“Without a doubt the strong position taken by the horse community has helped to ensure that this ill-thought-out policy is scrapped. The challenge now is to ensure that we make our voices heard on how Government and industry work together on animal health and welfare in the future.

“Greater levels of trust and responsibility sharing are to be welcomed, and as a sector we already share many costs on a voluntary basis. What is absolutely clear is that bureaucratic, top-down measures such as a ‘horse tax’ or an expensive quango are not the way forward and we’re delighted that the Government, with Minister Jim Paice MP clearly having a real grasp of his brief, agrees with us on this. There is a long way to go but things are looking much encouraging.”

Thank you to all those who took part in the campaign.

Further information on the Government’s announcement can be viewed on the British Horse Industry Confederation website here: http://www.bhic.co.uk/about/pressarchive/news.php?37

← Back to the News Index

This Latest News article was created on 10th July 2010

Latest News

13-12-10 - Equine community welcomes shelving of ‘Horse Tax’ and new Government-industry partnership to protect horses from disease

England’s equine sector has today welcomed the publication of...

03-08-10 - Official Government Response to the Rethink the Horse Tax Petition to the PM

Government confirms that it will not take “horse tax”...