Gordon Banks highlights tax concerns for UK construction

Gordon Banks, a former Labour shadow minister who served as an MP for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2005 to 2015, has written to the Prime Minister about the impact these changes could have on the UK economy.

Mr Banks, who is also a director of Cartmore Building Supplies which has its headquarters in Fife, has joined other members of the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) in expressing worries about the future of the building materials sector.

John Newcomb, chief executive officer of BMF (Image: Shepherd PR Limited) In his letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Banks said: "I appreciate you are looking for UK businesses to lead us out of the economic quagmire we have been locked in.

"However, burdening the very businesses you need to grow the economy, with these additional tax burdens, appears to me to simply mean that your plan will fail spectacularly."

His letter is part of a wider effort by the BMF to alert the government to the concerns within the UK's building materials sector regarding tax proposals.

John Newcomb, chief executive officer of BMF, said: "Gordon Banks’ letter is one of a number being forwarded to government from across our membership highlighting that the unintended consequences of the Budget could wipe out what it was aiming to do, which is stimulate economic growth.

“Construction is absolutely critical to the lifeblood of the UK economy, but we are hearing across the industry that the proposals in inheritance taxation, as well as the additional costs in relation to National Insurance, are likely to have a devastating impact.”

Last month, the BMF supported Family Business UK's letter to the Chancellor, calling for a formal consultation on the proposals for inheritance tax.

The BMF is now working with Family Business UK to call for discussions with the government on how best to address the challenges.