VAT Increase?

[Mark]

I see what you mean. I was interpreting "cancel out" in a different way.

It is still forcing prices to rise more than they "should".

Indeed. But many retailers are absorbing the VAT rise.

[Huge]

The end point of this trend being that HMG gets 100%.

[John Rumm]

They nearly do already in some cases!

(imagine an employer with £100 to spend on an employee who is a higher rate tax payer, by the time employers NI has been paid, and the tax taken off, the earner will be lucky to see £40, and then imagine he goes and buys petrol with that)!

[The Natural Philosopher]

Thats communism.

Actually its about 57% currently.

Someone will notice some day that giving half your money to a bunch of bureaucrats who spend 70% of it deciding on what is a fair way to do that... is a waste of tie and just leads to more bureaucrats.

The Left always was and always will be a way to stop people having their won money to spend, so the bureaucrats can take over completely.

On the basis that you, the people, are too stupid to look after yourselves properly, but on the other hand, no one is better than anyone else, except the bureaucrats you elected of course, who by some magical process of electoral mandate, are now so smart they will be able to tell everyone else how to live, and get it right.

And yet 39% of the population still believes this.

[Huge]

I'd rather not think about it. It doesn't do my blood pressure any good.

[Tony Bryer]

Unless, of course, they are doing very nicely out of a PFI contract or two!

[<me9]

Started at 10% and was reduced to 8%. then the tories (after saying pre-election they weren't going to double vat) (almost) doubled it to 15% after they were elected. Rest as above, apart from VAT on fuel becoming 5% at some stage.

[Man at B&Q]

There were two rates, 8% and 12.5%. Both went up to 15%.

MBQ

[Dave Liquorice]

So a Leopard doesn't change it's spots. Didn't the present lot also promise not to increase VAT if they were elected?

[Man at B&Q]

Just like the previous lot kept going on about rudence.

MBQ

[Tim Streater]

No, they didn't. They were just careful about what they said. I expect it was something like "We have no plans to increase VAT". Any fool can hear that and understand that it tells you precisely nothing, just like when Blair said "We have no plans to increase tax at all" before the

1997 election.

I was not surprised in the slightest that it was going to be increased.

[Andrew May]

Wasn't the 8% part of a split rate VAT with 25% on 'luxury goods'? So they might argue that they reduced it from 25% to 15%.

I seem to recall there was some debate at the time as to what constituted a luxury good. If I bought a replacement knob for my HiFi it would be charged at 25% but if I bought it for my cooker it would only be charged at 8%.

Andrew

[<me9]

Until fuel was taxed at 5% there had never been two rates of VAT in use at the same time (disregarding zero rate).

I remember putting off buying clothes when purchase tax was increased to somewhere north of 50% There was a multitude of rates for PT.

[Bill Taylor]

There were 2 rates between 1974 and 1979, standard was 8%, higher was

25% which reduced to 12.5% in 1976.

See

[Dave Liquorice]

There are still some weird things between zero rated and standard rated goods. Not all food is zero rated for example, chocolate digestives are standard rate but plain digestives are zero. Cakes are also zero, including Jaffa cakes (HMR&C lost that one).

Google found this on the HMR&C site, haven't checked how old it is as the HMR&C never seems to remove *anything* or ensure that searches produce the current information:

like entry about "Ornamental fish - such as Koi carp" these are standrard rated unless "If prepared for human consumption, they are zero-rated"

[Reentrant]

We should also be proud that our government spells out exactly what decorations are allowed on gingerbread men before they become VATable.

[Bob Eager]

My wife thought that, but I can find no trace of a 25% rate. Yes, there were two rates for a while, but they were 8% and 12.5%.

[Bob Eager]

Yes, there were...

[Bob Eager]

enough...

[Dave]

I used to buy dark chocolate digestives, but now it will be Jaffa cakes.

Dave