Rescue rescuers from VAT, says councillors

OLDHAM Mountain Rescue Team should be treated like the emergency services — and not pay tax on fuel and supplies, councillors believe.

The rescue charity should be treated like the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and be exempt from VAT and fuel duty, which would save the rescue team thousands of pounds a year.

Councillors backing the move called on chief executive Charie Parker to write to Chancellor George Osborne and Oldham’s three MPs to support exemption for all mountain rescue teams across the UK. Councillor Rod Blyth said: “This is an emergency service like other 999 services. This VAT arrangement means the state is taxing lives.”

Councillor John Dillon said it was a scandal that well-known high street retailers avoided paying tax while the mountain rescue service could not.