The government needs to reverse this foolish VAT cut as soon as possible
From the Guardian....
The Treasury dashed hopes of an extension to the government's VAT holiday tonight after the latest figures for public borrowing revealed a collapse in tax revenues and prompted City forecasts of a £200bn deficit for the whole financial year.
With the City taken aback by the rapid deterioration in the state's finances, aides to the chancellor, Alistair Darling, stressed that the Treasury could not afford the £12bn cost of the VAT cut for a second year and the tax would return to 17.5% from January 1.
well that's it then - the bells ring 12, we all sing Auld Lang Syne and head back to the bar where we find that the prices have all increased and the tills are down while the techies roll out the software upgrade.
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when nobody in government has ever had a proper job.
Nope. VAT is the worst tax of all, reducing it to the EU minimum rate of 15% was one of the few good things that Labour have ever done.
ReplyDeleteTaxes should go down and role of government as redistributing agent should diminish substantially (fire gov and gov related jobs) if you want to have meaningful long term healthy base for new growth!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's absurd that we should have this stupidly high tax (VAT), and stupid that we should let someone else set the rate, and stupid that we waste so much money on the EU, which is a club for inefficient continental farmers and a gravy train for bureaucrats.
ReplyDeleteThe EU is a past-its-sell-by date project of failed French/German elite/imperialists, who can't bear not having as much clout in the world as the USA.
We should dump the EU, VAT and make a trade arrangement from the outside with the EU, as other nations have done.
Small is beautiful.
B. in C.
Ubfortnuate that some of the commenters here are only able to regurgitate tablois slogans... Anyway, the vat rebate: I wonder who actually noticed it? For £12bn it seems like a ridiculously expensive give-away for so little. Wouldn't it have been better to reduce income tax?
ReplyDelete@bucket of tongues
ReplyDeleteIt would only be a tiny difference in your tax bill.
But think of it this way. How many renewable energy projects could have been funded (and jobs created etc) with a FIRST year cash injection of 12bn?
And under Labour we became a net energy importer, so taking a good chunk out of that deficit would have a very positive impact on the UK balance of payments.
It would only be a tiny difference in your tax bill.
ReplyDeleteBanker = New Porsche
Teacher = Fancy meal in a posh restaurant
Hospital Cleaner = Bag of crisps
Haven't you gotten tired already of watching Darling piss your money away?
ReplyDelete@Marchamont Needham
ReplyDelete... and the tills are down while the techies roll out the software upgrade.
Um. No. VAT is calculated via a lookup table, where the rate is obtained by VAT Code and Date of Transaction. (Surely, even the dimmest of Excel users does this?)
And even if the rates have been hard coded into the program, there is plenty of time to roll out the software before 2010.
Can't afford to keep VAT low?
ReplyDeleteWhy don't the stupid c*nts exit Afghanistan?