Amber wins fight against caravan tax

She was among a group of MPs who presented a petition of thousands of signatures to Parliament last Tuesday opposing the plan to impose 20 percent VAT on them.

After Chancellor George Osborne announced the introduction of the caravan tax in March’s Budget, Ms Rudd raised concerns it would cost jobs without generating significant revenue.

And the industry trade body, the National Caravan Council, claimed the move would lead to 4,340 job losses at holiday parks across the UK, with a further 1,446 jobs lost in the manufacturing sector and 1,500 at suppliers.

At the time, the Government said it was bringing static caravans into line with mobile ones, which are subject to 20 per cent VAT.

But this week, the Government announced static holiday caravans will now be charged at five per cent instead of the higher proposed rate.

Following the announcement Amber said: “This is fantastic news for holiday parks in the Rye area. I am relieved the Government listened to the arguments, took people’s concerns on board, and decided on a much more reasonable tax on static holiday caravans.

“The Government has to look at every possible source of revenue to tackle the deficit, but they also have to listen – which they did – and this will be a huge relief to the important tourism industry locally.”

The new 5 per cent rate will be delayed from October to April next year.