An increase in the rate of VAT for repairs and maintenance work of buildings will be a charter for cowboys, warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) ahead of the Government's Emergency Budget.

Richard Diment, Director General of the FMB said: "Any increase in the current rate of VAT for building work would merely result in a massive boost for the informal economy because more and more cash strapped householders would resort to 'cash in hand' as a way to avoid paying a possible 20 percent extra cost on maintaining their home. The end result will be not to raise more money as the Chancellor intends but simply a means to drive more money into the informal economy."

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Diment continued: "The danger of inadvertently boosting the informal economy is that more people will be put at risk by unscrupulous rogue traders who will exploit cash strapped customers. We know that two years ago more than £170 million was paid to rogue traders by members of the public and given the current economic crisis this figure will have probably increased as householders tighten their belts.

"The Chancellor needs to consider carefully VAT rates because a low taxation economy is one that stimulates growth. Independent research has shown that actually reducing the rate of VAT to five percent on the labour element of housing repair, maintenance and improvement work would have a multiplier effect of more than £1 billion as well as creating more than 55,000 extra new jobs this year alone. This can only be good news for the economy as it faces the threat of a double dip recession."

(CD/GK)