Pie Tax horror announced in Budget

[Rich]

Just think, all the scrubbers who frequent Greggs will probably starve.

 

 

I've bought many a sandwich from Greggs, and contrary to what certain people on here think, I am NOT a scrubber!

[I1L2T3]

Are you referring to the post where you claimed that caravans were a luxury? Because if so, that was an argument in favour of imposing VAT on them, not an argument against.

 

Of course it's an argument for the tax. I never said otherwise. That argument most likely was one of the things that prompted the VAT introduction to begin with. However the arguments against evidently outweighed that, the government having opened a consulation period and changed its decision based on the evidence presented.

 

Not too hard to understand is it?

[I1L2T3]

You didn't offer any reason to believe there was anything special about it. Why should caravan manufacturers be treated any differently from everybody else? (Special pleading arguments, by definition, will always be ignored as invalid, precisely because they are special pleading.)

 

Yes I did. I clearly stated the economic risks and in another one of my posts I mentioned the estimate of 7-8000 job losses. Do you think we should introduce taxes that damage businesses and economic sectors?

[I1L2T3]

“This is a really big success. We would have liked it to have been reversed completely, but the Government can still say it’s corrected the anomaly between different caravan types....This is a sign of strength in this Government that it can carry out a genuine consultation and then admit it was a disastrous policy.

 

Had they levied the tax at 20% they would have killed a very successful manufacturing industry.

 

To their credit, ministers have stuck their hands up and said “we got it wrong”.

– Andrew Percy MP, Tory MP for Goole

 

Avoiding the destruction of an industry doesn't look like special pleading to me.

[I1L2T3]

I don't choose to ignore it, my penchant for rational and logical thought demands that I ignore it.

 

Then unfortunately you chose to ignore the very reasons that led to a significant watering down of the original proposal. Your loss.

[HeadingNorth]

Yes I did. I clearly stated the economic risks

 

All of which apply to all industries which produce VAT-chargable goods. Arguing that caravan producers should be treated differently from producers of all the others goods is, by definition, special pleading.

 

Still no valid argument, then.

[Rampent]

All of which apply to all industries which produce VAT-chargable goods. Arguing that caravan producers should be treated differently from producers of all the others goods is, by definition, special pleading.

 

Still no valid argument, then.

 

Genuine question HeadingNorth - do you have a permo frown upon dee face or what?

[Mecky]

Typical how the rightwingers try and drag out a thread about tax on hot food and try to spin it in a well rehearsed topic they feel comfortable arguing with.

[I1L2T3]

All of which apply to all industries which produce VAT-chargable goods. Arguing that caravan producers should be treated differently from producers of all the others goods is, by definition, special pleading.

 

Still no valid argument, then.

 

My arguments are the same as the ones that persuaded the Treasury to backtrack.

 

Loss of jobs and damage to a fragile economic sector. I never said they should be treated differently to all other goods. Most other goods yes.

 

The key point you seem to be missing is there is currently no VAT. To introduce VAT would damage the caravan manufacturing industry and tourism too. You may also have noted that Tory MPs have been prominent in opposing this, Tory MPs from the Humber and Lincolnshire areas. The reason they are so vocal is:

 

1. They represent areas where toursim is important

2. They represent areas where most of the static caravan manufacturing in the Uk takes place. Over 6,000 jobs rely directly on it in those areas and over 10,000 indirectly.

3. They represent constituencies with low income deprived districts.

 

The case is that the 20% VAT would have severely damaged a particular region which is dependent on a particular industry. The Conservatives haven't had a good record on regions so thank goodness they listened this time. I applaud them for that but I only wish they'd kept it at 0%.

[I1L2T3]

Genuine question HeadingNorth - do you have a permo frown upon dee face or what?

 

He should chillax and have another glass of wine. Or maybe a game of fruit ninja.