VAT increase

[4988cc]

GilbertGutbucket said:

In the private repairer services/builders/auto services sector it will increase the number of 'Cash Deals' done so negating some of the increase and IMO why not?..... as IMO 20% VAT is obscene.

Why not? Because it's fraud, technically speaking

If you 20% VAT is obscene, you could move elsewhere in Europe:

Austria 20%
Bulgaria 20%
Belgium 21%
Cyprus 15%
Czech Republic 20%
Denmark 25%
Estonia 20%
Finland 22%
France 19.6%
Germany 19%
Greece 23%
Hungary 25%
Iceland 24.5%
Ireland 21%
Italy 20%
Latvia 21%
Lithuania 21%
Luxembourg 15%
Malta 18%
Netherlands 19%
Norway 25%
Poland 22%
Portugal 21%
Romania 24%
Slovakia 19%
Slovenia 20%
Spain 18%
Sweden 25%
Switzerland 7.6%
United Kingdom 20.0%

The mean average of which is 20.3%.

If this country is truly shot to pieces, there are plenty of others to choose in which to live, all with their own economic and social problems. You just end up swapping one set for another. Perhaps better the devil you know?

ETA: The list above may be out of date. Here's the current one

Edited by 4988cc on Monday 3rd January 22:35

[V8A*ndy]

MG CHRIS said:

My next door neighbour who works in currys and was saying it was mad in the shop today people buy t.v and so on, like the prices will double in a day rediculuis.

Edited by MG CHRIS on Monday 3rd January 19:26

Just to point something out here.

I went to Currys to return an item (a present I got for the wife that she wanted changed to something else).

It only cost £20 a couple of days before Xmas but last Tuesday it was £5 more expensive.

Beat the VAT my arse they have already put the prices up.

[Pageo]

So they reckon it will raise £13bn a year? what i want to know is where is the money going? if the goverment is using to reduce the difference in the defecit then i have no problem.

But if it's being used to fund the mother of 7 or some afghans in a mountain then i won't be happy.

What is our current defecit? around £80-100bn a year? if so why are we paying the price when we still give out around £12bn a year in foreign aid and around £40bn a year to the EU? and the £40bn interest on our debt? ( which we have to pay but im sure that if we cut enough we could get a deal )

Ands then once the defecit is back to 'green levels' we then have the problem of the actual debt.

[chris watton]

Pageo said:

So they reckon it will raise £13bn a year? what i want to know is where is the money going? if the goverment is using to reduce the difference in the defecit then i have no problem.

But if it's being used to fund the mother of 7 or some afghans in a mountain then i won't be happy.

What is our current defecit? around £80-100bn a year? if so why are we paying the price when we still give out around £12bn a year in foreign aid and around £40bn a year to the EU? and the £40bn interest on our debt? ( which we have to pay but im sure that if we cut enough we could get a deal )

Ands then once the defecit is back to 'green levels' we then have the problem of the actual debt.

It'll pay for the 'Green Jobs', back handers for the carbon capture (Good Lord..) and windmill companies - all, very likely, have ties with the peeps who decide where government money goes...

(Am getting too cynical...)

[Pageo]

If it was too pay for some windfarms then i would be all for it as it would create jobs as well. As im all for green power ( apart from the car ).

[Dave Angel]

[redacted]

[Einion Yrth]

Pageo said:

If it was too pay for some windfarms then i would be all for it as it would create jobs as well. As im all for green power ( apart from the car ).

You do realise that when it's really really cold in Britain it's usually because of a static high pressure zone, which effectively means that the wind doesn't blow. Additionally you do of course realise that we, the British, do not manufacture any of the windmill components such that the jobs created are in other countries?

[Westy Pre-Lit]

Einion Yrth said:

Pageo said:

If it was too pay for some windfarms then i would be all for it as it would create jobs as well. As im all for green power ( apart from the car ).

You do realise that when it's really really cold in Britain it's usually because of a static high pressure zone, which effectively means that the wind doesn't blow. Additionally you do of course realise that we, the British, do not manufacture any of the windmill components such that the jobs created are in other countries?

Now now, there's no need to ruin a dellusion is there

Edited by Westy Pre-Lit on Tuesday 4th January 07:57

[XitUp]

£13bn a year from the VAT rise when they could be getting in an extra £100bn from tax evaders like Green. Pretty sickening.

[Eric Mc]

cuprabob said:

XitUp said:

How much does he think a vegetable rogan josh with garlic rice will go up by?

you only pay vat if you sit in. It's vat free if it's take away

Wrong.

All restaurant and café meals are charged at Standard Rate VAT.

When VAT was introduced in 1973, there was a distinction between buying food in a restaurant and buying food to take away. The difference in treatment was abolished in the 1980s.

Nowadays, all meals are charged Standard Rate VAT if bought from a restaurant, café or takeaway. In grocery shops and supermarkets, some food is Zero Rated and some food is Standard Rated. There is a long and extensive list of foodstuffs and their VAT status. VAT on food can be very complicated and has led to some very odd cases - such as the Jaffa Cake case or the Ginsters Case (although it's debateable if Ginsters qualifies as "food").

Edited by Eric Mc on Tuesday 4th January 08:10

[AJS-]

CaptainSlow said:

In reality seller will absorb an element of the tax increase, so will be less than that.

This is optimistic.

All experience from things like decimalisation, the introduction of the Euro and increases in prices of petrol, cigarettes and booze after various budgets suggests retailers take the chance to stick a bit more on the price.

[Silver993tt]

AJS- said:

CaptainSlow said:

In reality seller will absorb an element of the tax increase, so will be less than that.

This is optimistic.

All experience from things like decimalisation, the introduction of the Euro and increases in prices of petrol, cigarettes and booze after various budgets suggests retailers take the chance to stick a bit more on the price.

and people just buy less.

[turbobloke]

Westy Pre-Lit said:

Einion Yrth said:

Pageo said:

If it was too pay for some windfarms then i would be all for it as it would create jobs as well. As im all for green power ( apart from the car ).

You do realise that when it's really really cold in Britain it's usually because of a static high pressure zone, which effectively means that the wind doesn't blow. Additionally you do of course realise that we, the British, do not manufacture any of the windmill components such that the jobs created are in other countries?

Now now, there's no need to ruin a dellusion is there

Particularly when the evidence from abroad is that every 'Green' job created is at the expense of 2.2 real jobs.

Having watched the BBC News this morning it was noticeable that they gave a long unopposed slot to Postman Prat. Can't remember hearing a grovelling apology for the mess left by his party when it was a 'government'.

[Eric Mc]

What annoys me about opposition politicians (of whatever persuasion) is that they are always keen to point out the flaws in the governments tax policies but unwilling to state exactly how they would deal with the self same problem if they were in power. It is likely that Labour might very well have increased VAT too. They certainly wanted to increase Employer NI contributions - which became a hot topic in the election campaign.

Whoever was in power was going to be faced with a financial hole that needed plugging. It was going to be unpalatable no matter what taxes were increased.

[Bing o]

Pageo said:

If it was too pay for some windfarms then i would be all for it as it would create jobs as well. As im all for green power ( apart from the car ).

[convert]

Bing o said:

Pageo said:

If it was too pay for some windfarms then i would be all for it as it would create jobs as well. As im all for green power ( apart from the car ).

[pete a]

A vat rise is the fairest way of doing it because we all buy things and pay vat, from the richest who pay the most as they buy more,right down to the chav on a sink estate buying beer and fags out of their benefits.

Of course Sillyband and the rest of the Labour party would rather just tax the guy who works harder and leave the chav with some extra cash left for some Ganja!

[turbobloke]

Eric Mc said:

What annoys me about opposition politicians (of whatever persuasion) is that they are always keen to point out the flaws in the governments tax policies but unwilling to state exactly how they would deal with the self same problem if they were in power. It is likely that Labour might very well have increased VAT too. They certainly wanted to increase Employer NI contributions - which became a hot topic in the election campaign.

Whoever was in power was going to be faced with a financial hole that needed plugging. It was going to be unpalatable no matter what taxes were increased.

In other news, economists agree on the deficit reduction programme not leading to a double dip recession, with fiscal figures better than expceted. Which is good or bad depending on your view of economists.

FT said:

Britain’s deficit-reduction programme will remain on track this year because tax rises and spending cuts will not stunt growth enough to cause a double-dip recession, according to a large majority of economists polled by the Financial Times.

In an extensive survey of leading economists, most concluded that the austerity measures, including today’s rise in the rate of value added tax to 20 per cent, were a big gamble, but one that was likely to pay off. Their biggest concerns were over Britain’s stubbornly high inflation and the risk of an intensifying eurozone sovereign debt crisis imperilling economic recovery.

Sir John Gieve, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, said: “I expect the fiscal figures to come in a bit better than plan unless external shocks drive us back towards recession.”

Edited by turbobloke on Tuesday 4th January 09:13

[AJS-]

The trouble with raising VAT though is that it still doesn't get to the core of the problem - the government is spending too much. Yes they need to balance the books but not by raising more in taxes. They need to make huge, HUGE cuts and they just don't have the balls (or to be fair the electoral mandate) to do it.

Country's fked. Good luck!

[zcacogp]

Pageo said:

what i want to know is where is the money going? if the goverment is using to reduce the difference in the defecit then i have no problem.

But if it's being used to fund the mother of 7 or some afghans in a mountain then i won't be happy.

And this is it. Where is the money going?

I have reservations about raising a tax which WILL hit the richest harder than the poorest (those who earn more buy more luxury goods - it's why people aspire to earning more!), while this extra money continues to be pissed away funding those who refuse to work. Hitting the benefits culture HARD is the move that will make a difference, and which will dramatically improve my view of the coalition.


Oli.