Who knows what they think? But what we do know is that one of the member-owned golf clubs with the highest green fee income – Walton Heath in Surrey – gives a £700 discount in subscriptions to Members of Parliament. We know that because one of them, Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham, declares this in his list of financial interests. Look at his website. Strangely we cannot find any other MP declaring his membership of the club. Nor, in fact, do any of them seem to declare membership of any golf clubs. Not yet!
Walton Heath boasts that four former prime ministers were all members there. That was probably a bit of luck when they planned the route of the M25, which fortunately does just skirt them! Ear defenders to the ready.
But Walton Heath is one of the big earners of green fees, with a whopping £625,938 of green fees in 2010. And that is excluding VAT, which they might well get back. And like some others they delightfully call them “temporary members”. What nonsense! Pay a green fee at Walton Heath on the day of the AGM and you certainly won’t be welcomed there as some kind of member. More about the theory of calling them “temporary members” on other pages!
Again – a very simple question – if they are not subject to commercial influence why are they doing it? Why clog up the course with slow playing societies and dreadful people paying green fees? Why? Simple. Because they are subject to commercial influence!
And when you look at Walton Heath’s accounts you see that they don’t pay Corporation Tax on this obvious trading income.
If the Bridport case isn’t appealed then Walton Heath, like many other smart member-owned clubs, is likely to get part of the £300 million VAT windfall. AGCO thinks that all Members of Parliament must declare their golf club memberships of member-owned clubs. That is whether they get a freebee, a cheapee or whether they pay full whack. Whichever way they pay they stand to get part of the VAT windfall and should declare their interest in this in advance of any debates.
Link to Walton Heath Golf Club www.waltonheath.com
And one to Jon Cruddas MP http://www.joncruddas.org.uk/index.php/pages/contact