Land remediation firms may lose out from concessions on landfill tax

Significant concessions have been made by the Government over the landfill tax as the Finance Bill has continued its passage through the Commons. Plans to make directors of landfill businesses personally liable for the tax have been dropped, and the mining and quarrying industry has been promised that mineral wastes will be exempted from the tax. But the hopes of firms offering clean-up technologies for contaminated land that the tax would boost their competitiveness are likely to be dented. A Labour amendment to impose a higher rate of tax for hazardous waste was defeated.