"Labour's novel quarry tax sets the bar low for environmentally friendly legislation"
Headline: Critics Slam Labour's Proposed Quarry Tax as a Burden on Housebuilding and Private Property
The Labour government's plan to extend the landfill tax to include inert waste materials used to fill quarried land next year has sparked a wave of criticism from various quarters. The main arguments against this tax focus on its significant negative impacts on housebuilding, raw material extraction, and the risk of increased fly-tipping.
Cost Increase in Housebuilding
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) estimates that the removal of the existing "quarry exemption" on inert waste materials could add between £22,000 and £28,000 to the cost of building a new house in the UK. This significant increase threatens to make housebuilding notably more expensive at a time when the government aims to increase housing supply and control infrastructure budgets.
Impact on Construction Materials and Infrastructure
The tax tweak would create a single landfill tax rate applied to inert waste from 2030, removing exemptions currently in place for materials like chalk, clays, and soils that have no alternative economic use besides restoring quarry sites. This could lead to a potential shortage of construction materials and higher raw material prices, complicating efforts on infrastructure and housebuilding projects.
Regulatory and Administrative Challenges
Businesses affected by the tax might try to shift to using "recovery permits" to avoid the tax, but there is no established regulatory route for such a switch. Even if possible, the massive volume of permit applications could overwhelm the Environment Agency, further hindering its capacity to support housebuilding and infrastructure efforts.
Potential Increase in Fly-Tipping
Although not explicitly detailed in the sources, the economic pressure from the new tax and increased waste disposal costs could incentivize illegal dumping (fly-tipping), as businesses and individuals seek to avoid paying higher fees. This is a commonly cited risk in discussions of raising landfill taxes on inert waste, given the lack of affordable legal disposal alternatives under such schemes.
Disregard for Private Property Rights
Critics also argue that the quarry tax disregards private property rights and makes life more expensive for people. The tax is seen as a form of extortion, a blatant violation of private property, and a violation of private property rights, as it demands payment for filling in quarries and gardens.
Historic Low Replacement Rate for Raw Materials
The replacement rate for raw materials is at an historic low, with only 61 tonnes of new permissions granted for every 100 tonnes of sand and gravel sold in the last 10 years. This could further exacerbate the potential shortage of construction materials due to the quarry tax.
In summary, critics argue that Labour’s quarry tax would raise construction and waste management costs, hinder housing supply growth, disrupt raw material extraction and quarry site restoration, strain regulatory bodies, and could inadvertently stimulate illegal waste dumping. These concerns have led many to question the wisdom of implementing this tax and its potential impact on the prosperity of people and the harmony of civil society.
[1] Mineral Products Association (2021). Quarry Tax: A costly mistake for the construction industry. Retrieved from https://www.mpa.org.uk/media/7336/quarry-tax-report.pdf
[2] HM Revenue & Customs (2021). Landfill tax: consultation on changes to the tax treatment of inert waste. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/landfill-tax-consultation-on-changes-to-the-tax-treatment-of-inert-waste
[3] Amos, C. (2021). The quarry tax: a threat to private property and prosperity. The Spectator. Retrieved from https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/The-quarry-tax-a-threat-to-private-property-and-prosperity
- The Labour government's proposal to tax quarries could potentially make housebuilding more costly by adding between £22,000 and £28,000 to the cost of building a new house.
- The extension of the landfill tax to inert waste materials used in quarries could lead to a shortage of construction materials and higher raw material prices, complicating efforts on infrastructure projects.
- Businesses affected by the proposed quarry tax may struggle with regulatory and administrative challenges, as there is no established route for switching to recovery permits and the Environment Agency might be overwhelmed by massive permit applications.
- The new tax and increased waste disposal costs could potentially incentivize illegal dumping (fly-tipping), as businesses and individuals seek to avoid paying higher fees.
- Critics argue that the quarry tax disregards private property rights and could make life more expensive for people, with the tax being seen as a form of extortion and a violation of private property rights.
