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Brown turns Green as he proposes VAT cut on eco-friendly goods
Last updated at 22:52pm on 20.07.07Gordon Brown held out the prospect of a tax cut on 'green goods' as he initiated a European environmental campaign.
VAT on products ranging from fridges to loft insulation could be slashed to just 5 per cent to promote green behaviour.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy agreed to help the Prime Minister secure European-wide approval for the cut on energy-efficient goods. It would mean consumers paying less for products that pass certain environmental standards, such as kitchen equipment that scores an A-rating for low energy use.
On his first visit to Paris as Premier, Mr Brown said he would press the EU to reduce VAT on a range of products from 17.5 per cent to 5 per cent. EU rules limit the number of products that can be sold at a reduced VAT rate and all 27 member states must agree to extend those that qualify.
Government sources said securing France's backing will dramatically increase the chances of winning EU-wide approval.
Separately, the two leaders promised an era of deeper co-operation, with coordinated efforts against terrorism and a joint push on Darfur, the Sudan province ravaged by civil war.
Reader views (2)
A little late Gordon.
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London
Gordon Brown as usual fiddling while Rome burns. What earthly use is removing a bit of tax from a few odds and ends of loft insulation and such like while the rain forests are being cut down, China is building a power station a day and America refuses to stop belching 25% of the world's pollution out? Oh, and while the world's population is growing so fast that by 2050 we'll need the resources of two worlds to keep going. Can Gordon start finding world number two now for us please?
- Judith Chisholm, London
