A COUNTY councillor has called for tax breaks on work to construct and maintain community buildings.

Roz Smith, who represents Headington and Quarry in Oxford, is to put a motion to Oxfordshire County Council that would see the authority back a campaign launched by the National Village Halls Forum.

Mrs Smith has proposed writing to all of the county’s MPs asking them to throw their weight behind proposals which would see VAT charges on village or community hall projects reduced or removed altogether.

The Forum campaigns on behalf of the 10,000 community buildings in rural England.

Mrs Smith’s motion said the rate of VAT charged on building work at village and community halls – currently the standard 20 per cent – was “a tax on voluntary effort”.

She added this was being made more difficult due to cuts to community grant funding as a result of savings being made across the board by the county council as well as other public sector organisations.

The motion said: “Austerity measures and budgets cuts have meant grants towards the costs of improving and maintaining the village halls and community centres are diminishing.

“The volunteers have to fundraise even more vigorously to maintain and upgrade the buildings.”

Councillors will vote on the proposal at a full meeting of the county council next Tuesday.

The meeting is at County Hall, Oxford, starting at 10am.