KIRKLEES Council could slash its parking charges by 17.5% a senior councillor has said.
Clr Mehboob Khan, leader of the Labour group, said a recent ruling by a VAT Tribunal could lead to the authority cutting its parking costs.
It may also mean the authority is in line for a £3.5m windfall in past VAT payments.
In a test case brought by four local authorities, the tribunal found that the decision by Customs and Excise to apply VAT to council car parks was wrong.
Clr Khan said: "This is an important decision for the future of town centres across Kirklees.
"There are regular complaints about the cost of council car parking and its adverse effect on shops.
"Kirklees should progress this matter with Customs and Excise as soon as judgement is given in favour of local authorities. This would let them lower the parking charge by 17.5% . In order to halt the closure of shops that we have seen recently we need to make sure we give as much help as possible to our town centres."
The VAT Tribunal ruled that applying VAT to council car parks was wrong, as they had failed to prove that exempting councils from the charges applied to commercial operators of car parks, would lead to unfair competition.
VAT Tribunals give taxpayers a way of getting a hearing in court where Customs have given a decision with which they disagree.
