The Aggregates Levy was intended to promote the use of exempted waste material that would otherwise be dumped - such as china clay secondary aggregates from Devon and Cornwall. Exemptions to the Levy have now been suspended pending an EU investigation; from 1 April 2014, the use of waste aggregates has been disadvantaged by £2 per tonne.
Who’s behind all this? Click here to see just how busy the British Aggregates Association - a Lanark-based trade body apparently representing independent quarry operators - has been over the years in its campaign against the Levy. Robert Durward, the face behind BAA, has "worked hard for almost 12 years to have the Aggregates Levy properly investigated". Why is he so against the Levy? Well, Mr Durward is also the face behind Lanark-based Cloburn Quarry. Read this article and all will become clear:
Eight aggregates companies in Scotland have been issued with summary warrants ordering them to meet the taxman’s claims for unpaid aggregates levies.
Last year, Cloburn Quarry petitioned the Scottish Courts and sought a Judicial Review of HMRC's decision to obtain a summary warrant for unpaid taxes; the courts refused the motion. It’s not just the multinationals who try to avoid paying their UK taxes.
It’s a simple matter of common sense that waste material should be used before digging up any more greenfield quarries. Tell the Government!
