chem1st Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15519727 The poorest 20% of UK households spend a higher proportion of their disposable income on VAT than the richest 20%, the Office for National Statistics said. When Chancellor George Osborne announced the increase in his 2010 Emergency Budget, the government said that VAT was a progressive tax. The likes of Cyclone, Conrod et al. on here also argue that VAT is a progressive tax. Yet evidence coming out now, proves this now to be to the contrary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Orange Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15519727 The likes of Cyclone, Conrod et al. on here also argue that VAT is a progressive tax. Yet evidence coming out now, proves this now to be to the contrary. As a result of buying more fags and alcohol, no doubt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Sounds a bit mean, but probably right ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 As a result of buying more fags and alcohol, no doubt! Surely the basics should be VAT exempt. Most men would struggle to smoke more than 60 per day and drink more than 2 gallons of beer for example. After buying the basics, they can then spend more money on the VAT exempt items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulgarian Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Surely the basics should be VAT exempt. Most men would struggle to smoke more than 60 per day and drink more than 2 gallons of beer for example. are you saying beer and fags are "basics" ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertramp Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Rich people are tight, that's why they are rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 are you saying beer and fags are "basics" ? Hic, cough, hic... Are thy saying theer not? Thy a Southerner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willman Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Now forgive me for being an idiot - but if two families at the end of the financial spectrum partake in the same activities and spending on luxury items. 20 B&H a day, couple of bottles of red a week,tank of diesel every two weeks, is it not obvious that this will form a higher % of the poor persons income than the rich persons? Or seriously am i getting something wrong? I know i could be getting confused today. £100 vat items from £500 income is a higher % than £100 of a £1000 income. VAT is only a progressive tax if you spend more on the items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Now forgive me for being an idiot - but if two families at the end of the financial spectrum partake in the same activities and spending on luxury items. 20 B&H a day, couple of bottles of red a week,tank of diesel every two weeks, is it not obvious that this will form a higher % of the poor persons income than the rich persons? Or seriously am i getting something wrong? I know i could be getting confused today. £100 vat items from £500 income is a higher % than £100 of a £1000 income. The poorer people are spending more of their money on VAT accruing items as a % of income. Clearly too many of the basics attract VAT. Fags and beer as the most obvious example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Surely the basics should be VAT exempt. Most men would struggle to smoke more than 60 per day and drink more than 2 gallons of beer for example. After buying the basics, they can then spend more money on the VAT exempt items. The basics are exempt, food for example. Booze and tobacco are not basics. The BBC article fails to provide a link to the underlying data or to really consider what it is they're saying. It states that the poorest households spend more of their disposable income on VAT than the richest. Did they consider though that that's because the richest aren't spending their entire disposable income. That doesn't make it a regressive tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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