Enigma
If you are registered to pay VAT, you are obliged by law to charge it, if you aren't you don't have to.
It simply puts the Barton problem into perspective, it isn't viable as an airfield which purely depends on G/A as it's income. Along comes an outfit capable of running it as a viable enterprise if fees are raised to a realistic commercial level and G/A can't cope with the realities of life.
VAT on fuel, and life in general is a problem you should be raising with Mr Blair and is not the doing of the providers of suppliers.
Sod sentiments and "how it was in my day", wake up to reality or go somewhere else.