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  1. #1
    Arena Senior Member Crazed Rabbit's Avatar
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    Default Re: VAT cut, will it make any difference?

    Quote Originally Posted by Aries777777 View Post
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7747985.stm

    in the UK a cut of VAT from 17.5% will reduce to 15% until the end of 2011 to encouraging buying, however i just don't think the cut is enough, 2.5% is pittance in my eyes, and it won't help in the long run, however it is a step in the right direction, any thoughts, encourage anyone here to buy more as christmas approaches?
    Yes, probably. How big of an effect? Well, the size of the cut (smallish) and the current economic situation make me think the improvement won't be that big.

    15% is the minimum allowed by the EU btw, can't go below that.
    Really? Wow. How does that all work?

    CR
    Ja Mata, Tosa.

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    has a Senior Member HoreTore's Avatar
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    Default Re: VAT cut, will it make any difference?

    Quote Originally Posted by Crazed Rabbit View Post
    Really? Wow. How does that all work?
    The EU is a union based on a bunch of laws on trade and commerce. By joining, you agree to follow them. Kinda fundamental...
    Still maintain that crying on the pitch should warrant a 3 match ban

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    Arena Senior Member Crazed Rabbit's Avatar
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    Default Re: VAT cut, will it make any difference?

    Quote Originally Posted by HoreTore View Post
    The EU is a union based on a bunch of laws on trade and commerce. By joining, you agree to follow them. Kinda fundamental...
    Most trade unions I've heard of have maximum standards on trade restrictions, like tariffs, not minimum requirements for taxes.

    The idea of a union like that making laws to protect high-tax countries is odd.

    CR
    Ja Mata, Tosa.

    The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storm may enter; the rain may enter; but the King of England cannot enter – all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement! - William Pitt the Elder

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    Hope guides me Senior Member Hosakawa Tito's Avatar
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    Default Re: VAT cut, will it make any difference?

    "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." *Jim Elliot*

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    Mercury Member Thermal's Avatar
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    Default Re: VAT cut, will it make any difference?

    sorry i dont quite get that, explain please

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    Hope guides me Senior Member Hosakawa Tito's Avatar
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    Default Re: VAT cut, will it make any difference?

    Quote Originally Posted by Aries777777 View Post
    sorry i dont quite get that, explain please
    What the cartoon depicts is the disconnect between economic policy makers *elected & appointed* and the common family. On the one hand you have the "deciders" with secure jobs, health care, pensions, homes, college educations for their kids, every perk imaginable...saying things like this idiot . On the other are the vast majority that are losing or lost their jobs, homes in foreclosure, the stability & security of their families futures in serious doubt.
    "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." *Jim Elliot*

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    Things Change Member JAG's Avatar
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    Default Re: VAT cut, will it make any difference?

    I think it will help, better than doing nothing.

    I would have prefered direct tax help for lower income groups, but I understand the VAT cut - they are trying to stimulate the economy and more than anythign send a message rather than anything else.
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    GARCIN: I died too soon. I wasn't allowed time to - to do my deeds.
    INEZ: One always dies too soon - or too late. And yet one's whole life is complete at that moment, with a line drawn neatly under it, ready for the summing up. You are - your life, and nothing else.

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    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
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    Default Re : Re: VAT cut, will it make any difference?

    Quote Originally Posted by Crazed Rabbit View Post
    Most trade unions I've heard of have maximum standards on trade restrictions, like tariffs, not minimum requirements for taxes.
    The EU is not a trade union. It is an economic union.

    As a capitalist bloc, the EU seeks to harmonise taxes. Because, in order to get a fully functioning market, it is essential to have as little government intervention as possible. By setting minimum and maximum VAT rates, governments can't aid the competitiveness of their businesses with taxes as instruments.

    If it were up to me, the EU would set a single fixed rate for the entire union so the market can function undistorted by government interventions altogether.


    A second issue is, that most businesses aren't national anymore, but multinational. Companies will play governments against each other for lower taxes. This is the world turned upside down. The idea is that businesses compete with one another, instead of seeking out government hand-outs and incentives. The EU, being a union of small to mid-sized states, protects these states and their consumers against large multinational corporations, and forces them to compete with each other.


    Quote Originally Posted by CR
    The idea of a union like that making laws to protect high-tax countries is odd.
    As always, people tend to forget that the EU sets a maximum tax rate as well.

    I, for one, applaud the UK's socialist measure of lowering VAT. VAT is a regressive tax. I do wish the minumum and maximum VAT rates were set lower so that Britain could lead the EU on to an even more socialist tax regime.


    Market capitalism, undistorted by governmental incentives, combined with progressive tax regimes make for splendid countries.
    Last edited by Louis VI the Fat; 11-29-2008 at 00:12.
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