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Do You Think The VAT Rate Will Go Down Again?

With many smaller businesses suffering a sales drop due to the recession , is it time for the government to drop the Vat rate to stimulate some growth in the economy?
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Comments

  • Yes. Will the government do it? Probably not!

  • Shouldn't this be on the 'Question for BDL' thread?
  • No chance

     

    It used to be  8% then it went to 10 % the 15% then 17.5 % now 20% The only way it  is going is up up. It's a very cheap way of collecting money

    any way dropping it to 15% for a year or so wont make a blind bit of difference to eco growth

  • Think yourselves lucky. 21% here in Ireland and going up by 2% in the next budget. I'll be doing my Christmas shopping in the North.
  • Think yourselves lucky. 21% here in Ireland and going up by 2% in the next budget. I'll be doing my Christmas shopping in the North.
    Lapland?
  • yes  before the next election to about 18.5 %   all money to to buy your votes.

    Scidbox  oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii give us our £7 billion back we are skint as well.



  • yes  before the next election to about 18.5 %   all money to to buy your votes.

    Scummy politicians play this type of card before every election ...... bribe the electorate.

    And every time voters fall for it.
  • This twat of a government will squeeze us all until our pips squeak. I think they want to put the working class well and truly in its place.
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  • Yes, they should do, but NO they will not because it is at the heart of the labour policy........
    His  political advisors are desperate to get the growth figures up, but fear  what the labour party will say that this was there policy.
    Ironically most voters, will think he had the courage to do this and benefit the country. 

  • I'm sure you could download an app that will let you do it, otherwise, no.
  • no, the government needs even more cash to cope with the million unemployed youngsters .. everything from dole money to training schemes and the odd prison or two to cope with the young crims and extra A&E departments to cope with the drunks, druggies and attempted suicides .. and that is the good news !!!!
  • <blockquote rel="Goonerhater" ;oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii give us our £7 billion back we are skint as well.

    GH...the Irish are paying you more in interest than you have to to borrow it to lend to them in the first place! A nice gesture and welcome in the Republic, but when you have UK banks like Lloyds (in our ownership) losing £2.9BN in Ireland, it is also in UK interests to make sure that Ireland gets through this. Scid will unfortunately see a lot more than just a 2% VAT increase on Dec 6, to make sure Ireland continue to satisfy markets and pay back all loans!!
  • The Federation of Master Builders has been trying to get the government to reduce the VAT on building work in an attempt to stimulate the construction industry, arguing that the reduced tax rate will generate MORE for the treasury.

    They suggest that many clients are paying their builders cash to keep costs down and to avoid the high VAT surcharge, resulting in many cowboys flourishing at the expense of more reputable companies. If the rate was significantly reduced it could eliminate many of those who take a chance on having work done without any guarantees, receipts or responsibility for the work carried out.

    Many clients are having to choose between having a job done properly, or having it done cheaply!

  • A gesture £7 billion ? and as far as i know  i havent had any one turn up at my door step from the ROI offering to pay me f**K all.------------------- A GESTURE   naffing good job we didnt get generous then isnt it.

     Strange how its always in "the UKs interest" when we are shelling out isnt it ?  




  • The Federation of Master Builders has been trying to get the government to reduce the VAT on building work in an attempt to stimulate the construction industry, arguing that the reduced tax rate will generate MORE for the treasury.

    They suggest that many clients are paying their builders cash to keep costs down and to avoid the high VAT surcharge, resulting in many cowboys flourishing at the expense of more reputable companies. If the rate was significantly reduced it could eliminate many of those who take a chance on having work done without any guarantees, receipts or responsibility for the work carried out.

    Many clients are having to choose between having a job done properly, or having it done cheaply!

    cash in hand work to bypass VAT and PAYE/NI payment has been around since God was a boy. Many People would avoid paying VAT etc even if the rate were 2%. It is in their nature to have a little fiddle
  • Nothing wrong with having a little fiddle ;0!)
  • edited November 2011
    There's an accountacy firm in Romford by name of Stephen Fiddler. I hear that business is booming ... oops... allegedly
  • Lincs & Shooters:

    I agree with you both, but with VAT at 20% I think more people are prepared to take a chance by offering cash than if it was 5% for example. I have spoken to many clients over the last 30+ years who paid cash for work,only to find they have no legs to stand on when things go pear-shaped and end up having to pay a second time to have things put right.

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  • edited November 2011

    Lincs & Shooters:

    I agree with you both, but with VAT at 20% I think more people are prepared to take a chance by offering cash than if it was 5% for example. I have spoken to many clients over the last 30+ years who paid cash for work,only to find they have no legs to stand on when things go pear-shaped and end up having to pay a second time to have things put right.

    I guess so and it seems there are a lot more chancers and thieves about nowadays. if an offer/price seems too good to be true .. then (all together now)  it usually is
  • yes  before the next election to about 18.5 %   all money to to buy your votes.

    Scidbox  oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii give us our £7 billion back we are skint as well.



    Yeah but we borrowed the money to lend to the irish at around 3% and lent ti to them at around 6%, then sent them the queen and got us to pay for her to go over.
  • Tinkering with VAT by the odd few percentage points here and there made absolutely not a jot of difference to my sales a year or two back.............it would need to be at least 10% to make a significant difference anything less is pure posturing. 
  • edited November 2011
    Tinkering with VAT by the odd few percentage points here and there made absolutely not a jot of difference to my sales a year or two back.............it would need to be at least 10% to make a significant difference anything less is pure posturing. 
    Some companies are using the vat rise excuse as a reason for not giving their staff a salary increase, which may/may not be a genuine reason , i can understand if an employee has to hand more money over to the government then they are not going to increase staff salaries as well.

    Going from 17.5%  to 20% vat is not a 2.5% vat increase, its 14% i think from memory,(sorry no calculator to hand!) on 17.5% which means that retail prices end up rocketing by 20%
  • Can't see at this time. As others have said if it happens it'll be in a couple of years once they have also had the additional cash from the public sector pension scheme to play around with as well (not one penny of which is going towards the alledged pension black hole btw).

    Expect a income tax cut, VAT cut and the govt throwing a bit of cash around then but not just yet.

  • The Federation of Master Builders has been trying to get the government to reduce the VAT on building work in an attempt to stimulate the construction industry, arguing that the reduced tax rate will generate MORE for the treasury.

    They suggest that many clients are paying their builders cash to keep costs down and to avoid the high VAT surcharge, resulting in many cowboys flourishing at the expense of more reputable companies. If the rate was significantly reduced it could eliminate many of those who take a chance on having work done without any guarantees, receipts or responsibility for the work carried out.

    Many clients are having to choose between having a job done properly, or having it done cheaply!

    There is scope to do this under EC law, but our government(s) - of both persuasions - has chosen not to do it. 

    Wouldn't be surprised if it came in though - the Isle of Man already have something in place.

    Then again, when McDonalds win their case that takeaway food should always have been VAT free then I reckon we'll all be f***ed, so it doesn't really matter either way.

  • VAT equivalent is only 5% here in Alberta. Sounds great - but everything is so goddam expensive to begin with - especially in comparison to our friends over the border.......
  • Tinkering with VAT by the odd few percentage points here and there made absolutely not a jot of difference to my sales a year or two back.............it would need to be at least 10% to make a significant difference anything less is pure posturing. 
    Some companies are using the vat rise excuse as a reason for not giving their staff a salary increase, which may/may not be a genuine reason , i can understand if an employee has to hand more money over to the government then they are not going to increase staff salaries as well.

    Going from 17.5%  to 20% vat is not a 2.5% vat increase, its 14% i think from memory,(sorry no calculator to hand!) on 17.5% which means that retail prices end up rocketing by 20%
    14.29% increase
  • Thanks addicted , did you do that in your head? ;-0
  • Going from 17.5%  to 20% vat is not a 2.5% vat increase, its 14% i think from memory,(sorry no calculator to hand!) on 17.5% which means that retail prices end up rocketing by 20%
    14.29% increase
    The actual effect of a VAT increase from 17.5% to 20% is an overall price increase of 2.13%, because the extra VAT only applies to the base price not the existing VAT. No idea how that could translate to a 20% increase.

    Incidentally, AFAIK no Conservative government has ever cut the main rate of VAT and no Labour government has ever increased it (except to reverse what had always been advertised as a temporary cut). I think that gives you the answer to the original question.
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