Preparedness for when

Frugalsod

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

That VAT on food would just apply to the Greeks though wouldn't it?

Though...goodness knows...poor them if that's lined up for them...

I think we pay VAT on a bit of our food in Britain - but seem to recall its just on some processed food isn't it?

Food is vat free unless heated so that is why you have different prices for hot cornish pasties and cold pasties. Restaurant food has VAT on it.

I only mentioned it because while the government are trying to avoid becoming like Greece their policies are guaranteed to take us in that direction. So it was more about getting ahead of the curve. If you already have changed your lifestyle to make everything from scratch you will have already cut your food bill, and when such a VAT increase comes to the UK, then we will be less impacted than those who only eat ready meals.

Doveling

Not heard anything from 1tonsil for a while have we? Hope she's ok.

We hope to get a greenhouse at some point but I am loathe to dig up any of the garden for food production. What I would like to do is intermingle stuff with the flowers as my Grandad used to. Still productive but pretty!

moneyistooshorttomention

Frugalsod wrote: »

Food is vat free unless heated so that is why you have different prices for hot cornish pasties and cold pasties. Restaurant food has VAT on it.

I only mentioned it because while the government are trying to avoid becoming like Greece their policies are guaranteed to take us in that direction. So it was more about getting ahead of the curve. If you already have changed your lifestyle to make everything from scratch you will have already cut your food bill, and when such a VAT increase comes to the UK, then we will be less impacted than those who only eat ready meals.

Well..I was reading an article in the Guardian online today about the appalling state of the Greek health service and making more mental notes about "MUST MUST MUST eat a super-healthy diet - in case our NHS deteriorates to that standard in the future" (ie I don't want to be in a position where I might be reliant on whatever-is-left-of-the-NHS.

One of my own personal preps. - is in case I got health problems despite a genuinely healthy diet - and I'm accumulating a good collection of DIY healthcare books (eg herbal medicine remedies from different eras) and am planning on having a medicinal herbs section in my garden in case of need. Fortunately, one of the plus points of West Wales is a lot of more esoteric reading material available from others who have moved here:). Another one - which does have its plus sides - is a distinct disregard for how things are done in the rest of the country (ie Britain).

I know what you mean by ready meals though - and cant recall the last time I had one. I can see the plus sides to making convenience food more expensive for people - they might just turn healthier and slimmer as a consequence.

nuatha

Frugalsod wrote: »

Food is vat free unless heated so that is why you have different prices for hot cornish pasties and cold pasties. Restaurant food has VAT on it.

I wish it were that simple.
Most beverages are 0% rated, fruit juice whether fresh or from concentrate is Standard Rate (20%) Alcoholic beverages are SR (and liable for Duty) Fruit and Veg is zero rated, unless its ornamental varieties. Nuts and pulses are zero rated unless they are shelled and either salted or roasted. Single chemicals such as MSG, saltpetre or bicarbonate of soda are Standard Rate (salt is zero rated).

(And to make it slightly more complicated almost everything is liable for VAT (postage stamps and property transactions being the two exemptions that spring to mind, however large amounts of things are charged at 0% and therefore regarded by many as VAT free - they aren't and it wouldn't necessarily take legislation to move from 0 to any other number) (There is also a reduced rate, 5%, charged on utility bills and children's car seats)

HTH

Frugalsod

My point was more about making more from scratch would also reduce the impact of any future tax increases that could come when they increase the taxes on processed food.

GreyQueen

The trouble with tax regimes is that they are in the hands of the grubbyment who can change them with very little notice. We tend to accept the tax regime that we're presently living in as sensible and to predict forward that all future regimes will be sensible.

This country used to manage perfectly well without taking a 5% tax gouge off our utitlity bills, or off ladies' sanitary protection. Many children are in adult-sized clothes by 11-12 years old and these sizes are VAT-able, not the fact that they are being bought to dress children. And yes, you can claim in back, but I doubt that one in a thousand parents does so.

The so-called sin taxes are always popular, such as booze and cigs. Imagine if non-smoking became the norm and the whole country went tee-total? Not going to happen but, should a sufficient proportion of people quit these habits, the government would have to look elsewhere for their tax-take.

I do business with a certain outfit from time to time. The gaffer runs two prices for everything, the price-with-receipt inc VAT and the cash-no-receipt price without VAT. Of course, I opt to pay the higher tariff at all times, because I know that every time I decide to buy a fencepost, HM Government needs to take its payola payoff of money which the barstewards have already taxed me on already.

Better start adjusting your homes, if you own them, to minimize the amount of windows - that one has a precendent.

Frugalsod

GreyQueen wrote: »

The trouble with tax regimes is that they are in the hands of the grubbyment who can change them with very little notice. We tend to accept the tax regime that we're presently living in as sensible and to predict forward that all future regimes will be sensible.

This country used to manage perfectly well without taking a 5% tax gouge off our utitlity bills, or off ladies' sanitary protection. Many children are in adult-sized clothes by 11-12 years old and these sizes are VAT-able, not the fact that they are being bought to dress children. And yes, you can claim in back, but I doubt that one in a thousand parents does so.

The so-called sin taxes are always popular, such as booze and cigs. Imagine if non-smoking became the norm and the whole country went tee-total? Not going to happen but, should a sufficient proportion of people quit these habits, the government would have to look elsewhere for their tax-take.

I do business with a certain outfit from time to time. The gaffer runs two prices for everything, the price-with-receipt inc VAT and the cash-no-receipt price without VAT. Of course, I opt to pay the higher tariff at all times, because I know that every time I decide to buy a fencepost, HM Government needs to take its payola payoff of money which the barstewards have already taxed me on already.

Better start adjusting your homes, if you own them, to minimize the amount of windows - that one has a precendent.

Yes but these taxes are all to avoid the headline income tax increase that would be inevitable if we had an honest government. If you think that income taxes in the past were higher but then so many other taxes were considerably lower. Income taxes hit the rich whereas every tax on spending hits the poorest hardest. All the main parties were conning the public that they were the party of tax cutters when you look at the spending is exactly the same but the intake of taxes is such that they tax the poor via the spending taxes. Taxes on spending have increased substantially and broadened to cover ever more items.

moneyistooshorttomention

So - are we at crunch time for the Greeks this week or no? Not quite sure on the timing if their whole "kit and caboodle" unwinds - as to whether its this week or the end of this month.

Duly handed a (large:eek:) cheque over this week for another Major Job on my house and that's all the most urgent ones now done (gotta wait for more money now before I can finish the house off) and told the firm concerned that I'm fine for the money - but put it through your bank account and get it cleared as soon as....just in case. So that's that bit of personal prepping done - the house is now at "liveable in" standard.

Note to self - will have my bank statement for the month through soon, which proves that (at this moment in time) I do have the money to cover this cheque - even if I didn't (ie because of a bank bail-in).

You think like that....when the Whole Set-Up has looked like its teetering for some time...ie being able to prove that you personally can and would "do your bit" and it wouldn't be your fault if you couldn't iyswim.

Must admit that it would worry me if Greece as a country regards bankruptcy in the same casual light that many individuals in Britain seem to (rather than as something that has been absolutely forced onto you by other people not paying their debts to you and you aren't going to rest until you pay your creditors back regardless of whether you've been "let off the hook" or no).

mardatha

Catching up here, been busy and out a lot. Not happy at all with the way things are going re the govt, and the amount of hate levelled at the SNP.
Not in here of course, I mean elsewhere. I see things getting a lot worse.

Frugalsod

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Must admit that it would worry me if Greece as a country regards bankruptcy in the same casual light that many individuals in Britain seem to (rather than as something that has been absolutely forced onto you by other people not paying their debts to you and you aren't going to rest until you pay your creditors back regardless of whether you've been "let off the hook" or no).

Personally I doubt that they have been so glib about bankruptcy. If they were it would have happened years ago. The other problem is more that much of the debt is now odious debt and should not be repaid. The real problem is that our banking system is practically insolvent and a big failure like Greece might not have much direct impact because most of the debts have been dumped on the Eurozone taxpayers, because of corruption by their politicians.

Deutsche Bank transferred most of their direct Greek exposure to the German tax payer a few years ago. The current problem is that Deutsche Bank has a huge derivative book and they are probably going to collapse when those bets start having to be paid out. That might explain why they have lost so many executives these last few weeks. Many of these derivatives will be hedged but the problem is that if any of these counter parties go bust then the problem returns to Deutsche Bank.

When the banks start collapsing because smart people will take money out so to avoid losing money in a collapse governments might be persuaded to ban cash to stop bank runs, but what this does is guarantee an entire nation being broke when the derivatives have to be paid out. Derivatives now have precedence over other creditors so ordinary depositors could find their entire deposits seized to pay off derivative holders.