The sighs of relief could be heard the length and breadth of
the country; in every cafe, bar and restaurant; in very work place and home;
in everywhere, in fact: the government had dropped its plan to tax static
caravans. I leapt for joy and punched the air myself as if energised by the joy
of the collective consciousness even though I don’t possess or intend to a
static caravan. Likewise, the hungry busy luncheoner who fancies a hot pasty.
As long as the wrap of potatoes, carrot and steak chunks is cooling down after
cooking there will be no vat. Let the rejoicing begin.
So, who thought of these everyday purchases as being ripe
for tax? Was an HMRC operative on holiday in Cornwall and, as the rain bucketed down, looked over to see a caravan park with caravans that looked as if they had
not moved for a long while; that were stationary, that were not being used for
travel but as an abode; caravans that had long grass and bushes growing around them: caravans that were static - and so, they concluded, a liability was
due. And, as the HMRC operative sat pleased as Punch and watching the cloud stuffed sky offload its
precipitations, they then turned their attention to the piping hotted-ness of the pasty they
had bought at the Tasty Pasty shop in the high street. The operative thought, ‘this
heatedness of this pasty is surely a taxable enhancement.’
If the HMRC have done a U turn on taxation of these two staples of our daily lives you can bet there is an operative out there right now frowning at some other goods or services that
have hitherto enjoyed exemption or zero rated-ness. They will have to find the money from somewhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment