THERE is so much talk today of the Big Society – but newly bereaved people are still being hit with astronomical costs for headstones.
VAT is not charged on funerals, cremations, burials and other related costs – and yet it is charged on headstones with the previous government arguing that it is a ‘non-essential’ item.
I think most families would say that it is an essential item. If you opt for burial the grave needs to be marked properly so you can go somewhere to mourn your loved one.
Vat has now risen to 20% which means the government is doing very nicely out of the cost of memorials.
So why doesn’t it do more to help people at such a sad time in their lives and show some genuine sympathy? The government claims it is linked to European Union agreements, but surely there is some way round this if they looked hard enough.
Charities like the Huddersfield-based Joseph Salmon Trust which provides financial help for families who have lost a child would be able to do so much more with its money if VAT was scrapped on headstones.
These charities are a vital cog in Prime Minister David Cameron’s vision of a Big Society.
Perhaps it’s time he made a big-hearted decision and now looked to scrap the tax on dying for, in basic terms, that is what is being levied.
