Lib Dem Tax Bombshell

Liberal Democrat VAT plans on new builds will hit the building sector hard, will put thousands of jobs at risk and will cost house buyers thousands of pounds. The Lib Dems need to come clean, admit this policy is badly thought out and scrap it.

Annabel Goldie MSP, Scottish Conservative Leader, says:

"I am deeply troubled that the Lib Dems are proposing to hit the building industry in Scotland hard. VAT on new build homes would be devastating for a sector already struggling in the recession. More than 30,000 jobs have been lost in this vital area since the beginning of 2008 and many more are expected to go. This VAT levy would put more people out of work. It would also hit house buyers hard as prices would rise. People buying new build homes would pay on average an extra £14,119 in VAT alone. That money would not go into the value of the house. We just can't afford this kind of tax on homes from the Liberal Democrats. The more we look at Lib Dem policies, the more we discover that they are ill thought out and damaging to Scotland."

David Mundell, Shadow Scottish Secretary, says: "Like so many Lib Dem policies the closer you look at them, the less they stand up to scrutiny. VAT on new homes would hit house buyers and the building industry hard. Scrapping Trident would mean 11,000 job losses, going into the Euro would be against Britain's best interests and the illegal immigrant amnesty would put real pressure on public services. The only clear policy of the Liberal Democrats is that if you vote Lib Dem, they will prop up a Labour government."

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