Monday, 24 November 2008

POLITICS: A VAT decrease will cost us millions

If the rumours are true, and our labour government goes ahead with the VAT reduction to 15% (they can't go lower even if they wanted to thanks to our masters in Brussels) I feel convinced it will ultimately cost our country far, far more.
Whilst the average UK consumer may save a few hundred pounds per year, at what cost to UK business? Imagine all the current financial systems configured to 17.5% VAT. Each one will have to be re-configured for 15% and at what cost to the business? What at year end? What if half the year their sales are at 15% VAT and the other half at 17.5% VAT? The colossal scale of the administration costs to sort the figures will dwarf any economical benefit to the average consumer. At times like this, when such schemes are announced I really shudder at the thought that these people are supposedly guiding our country to better times.

UPDATE: Now the idiots have gone ahead with this it makes you wonder: is this merely a underhand way of bringing us ever more closely and inextricably linked to the EU? How long before slack-jaw decides that the pound has so little difference to the euro we should abolish it altogether?

On the cost to UK business issue one has to wonder what sense any of this makes. For the next week, until this comes into effect no consumers will buy anything. So that's 1 week out of the years 52 of trading you can kiss goodbye. Meanwhile, as consumers sit on their hands, businesses will be spending vast amounts of resource reconfiguring their financial systems to run at 15%.

When the country really needed a resolute stance from its government all it has received is a set of floundering erratic changes that provide all the stability of Gordon Brown's jaw. Great plan Labour.

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