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Cut VAT, Plumbers Call

The campaign to cut the VAT from 17.5% to 5% has just added a powerful new member. The Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC) has recently joined the cross-industry Cut the VAT Coalition.The Coalition aims to persuade the government to cut the VAT rate for building repair and maintenance work from the current rate of 17.5% to 5%. The Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors is particularly interested in the change as it would undermine rogue plumbers who do not charge VAT and offer more attractive prices to the public.The Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors argues that the cut will reduce the number of rogue plumbers and still offer substantial benefits to the general public struggling to renovate their homes, improve their central heating systems or replace an old boiler. The 17.5% VAT rate on plumbing and maintenance work is particularly damaging the weak parts of the population, the APHC said, and prevents them from maintaining their homes.Clive Di ...
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Plumb Centre Owner Warns That Profits Likely To Go Down

Wolseley, owner of Plumb Centre and other construction brands outlets has disappointed the financial markets with an announcement that it expects a drop of 25% in profit due to market conditions and creeping recession in the USA.Plumb Centre, which is used by thousands of UK plumbers and heating engineers, is a major division of Wolseley. The company has announced redundancies of 3,000 staff as part of a major cost cutting restructuring. This was blamed predominantly on the slowdown in America and the slowdown of the housing market in the UK (which in itself has negative implication for local plumbers and heating engineers). Plumber Centre owner has reported a slide of 7% in pre-tax profits last financial year.Wolseley, the world's number one distributor of heating and plumbing products is also a leading supplier of builders' products to the professional market. The company supplies a wide range of traders from plumbers and heating engineers to builders and construction professionals. ...
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