Petition Abolish VAT on bicycle lights

At the moment, bicycle lights are treated by the Treasury as being a luxury item and subject to VAT at 20%.

As bicycle lights are a mandatory safety accessory, and it is an offence for a cyclist not to have them on their bicycle during the hours of darkness, they should accordingly not be subject to VAT.

Cycle helmets, which aren't mandatory, but are considered by the Government to be an essential safety item, are accordingly not subject to VAT, while bicycle lights, which are mandatory and are an essential safety accessory are treated as a luxury item and subject to VAT at the highest rate.

This is wrong.

Bicycle lights can potentially save lives and reduce likelyhood of traffic collisions.

Please abolish VAT on bicycle lights, which would have the immediate effect of reducing the cost of bicycle lights by 20% and make this mandatory safety equipment more affordable to all cyclists.

Abolish VAT on bicycle lights.