Template Lobbying Letter: Stop the Landfill Tax Grab

Introduction

The Government is proposing that by 2030, the lower rate of tax for landfill waste will be removed for the standard rate. It will implement a tax escalator over the next four years.

At July 2025 rates, this would be a 3015% tax increase, going from £4.05 a tonne to £126.15 a tonne.

The exemption for quarry restoration is proposed to be removed by April 2027, which means environmental schemes such as Biodiversity Net Gain, championed as restoring nature are contradicted by a policy which seeks to improve environmental outcomes through taxing nature restoration.

For the construction industry, which continues to be hit with taxation or regulatory unintended consequences, the Landfill Tax grab further confirms that the Government does not understand how its most important sector operates.

A live NFB consultation response for the ‘Consultation on Reform of Landfill Tax in England and Northern Ireland’ is available to view, here. The Government’s consultation closes on 21 July 2024 and we urge you to respond as a business, as well as write to your MP!

The online response form can be found on the gov.uk page: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-reform-of-landfill-tax

Responses or enquiries can also be sent by email to LfTpolicy@hmtreasury.gov.uk

An NFB Survey is also available:
Landfill Tax Grab

Instructions

There are two ways you can do this.

You can contact your local MP through the WriteToThem website. This way does require you to write the letter in your own words, drawing on your own beliefs and experiences, however you are able to use our policy call to actions from the below letter.

1. Go to the WriteToThem website here: https://www.writetothem.com/ 
2. Enter your postcode
3. Choose your local representative (Member of Parliament)
4. Write your letter
5. Fill out your details and click ‘review and send’

Alternatively you can send an exact copy of the below letter. To do this you will need to use your own email.

1. Find your local MP and their contact details here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP 
2. Copy and paste the entire letter into an email
3. Send from your own email address

Letter Text

Dear

As local constituents and employers, I wanted  write to you regarding a concerning tax matter. The Government is proposing that by 2030, the lower rate of tax for infill waste will be removed and the standardised rate applied across the board, with the next four years used as an equalisation period.

At today’s rates, this is a 3015% increase, from £4.05 a tonne to £126.15.

To give you an idea of how that impacts projects:

A pro-rata (all works on site for 2 to 3 bed houses) would see landfill taxes increase from £607.05 a home to £18,922.50 a home.

Capital projects would be hit as hard:

• Lower Thames Crossing would see its landfill tax rise from £1.2 million to £37.8 million
• A59 improvement project at Kex Gill, near Harrogate would rise from £600k the £20m, due to inert clay and mudstone.

Higher taxes on development are one concern but the proposal also contains regulatory changes which might hinder quarry operation and establishment, and so risks increasing the cost of construction materials.

While we agree less construction waste must go to landfill and welcome the ambition of 75% of soil to be cleaned, sifted and re-used, industry cannot afford this tax-grab, which was left over from the previous government.

And we do mean tax grab, as the consultation explicitly mention the the lower rate ‘reduces Landfill Tax revenues which fund vital public services.’

Government should be putting solutions in place, such as growing the number of local ‘Earth Exchange’ schemes, before it considers another tax grab, particularly one this damaging.

Without a healthy construction, the UK cannot grow and as an industry with increasing insolvencies and operational challenges out of our control, we need you to fight against policies which make us sicker.

Your sincerely,