<P> In the run up to the 2010 general election there were reports that the Conservatives would raise VAT if they gained power . The party denied the reports . Following the election in May 2010 , the Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats . In the 2010 budget , described by PM David Cameron as an `` emergency budget '' , Chancellor George Osborne announced that the standard rate of VAT would increase from 17.5 % to 20 % with effect from 4 January 2011 . </P>
when did vat change from 17.5 to 20
4 January 2011