Rejected petition Stop Storage VAT

From 1st October 2012 all providers of self storage will be required to charge VAT on storage services at the standard rate, currently 20%.

It shouldnt be imposed because:
•Many customers will stop using storage space if the price is increased by 20%.
•Self storage is essentially about letting out individual units of space which are clearly separated, and therefore should be exempt from VAT in the same way as other rental property.
•The new rules are being imposed at short notice (they would come into effect during October 2012), and without a transition period.
•The industry already collects large amounts of VAT for the government on sales of items such as packaging materials and padlocks.
•The self storage industry already pays large amounts to the government through business rates and corporation tax.
•It will hit small business customers particularly hard – larger businesses will be able to reclaim VAT, but not smaller start-ups which aren’t VAT-registered.