Tag Archives: pasty tax

The Voice

Lib Link: Stephen Gilbert MP applauds Government for seeing sense on the “Pasty Tax”

By The Voice | Wed 30th May 2012 - 10:25 am

A delighted St Austell and Newquay MP Stephen Gilbert writes for the Total Politics website about the repeal of the so called “pasty tax” which had attracted huge opposition in Cornwall.

But despite the inevitable inclination to baton-down the hatches the government did engage with the industry and understood the clear constituency interest of its own MPs. The alternative actually delivers the bulk of what the government intended without any of the negative impacts: all the upside with none of the economic downside.

There’s no doubt that caravans and pasties were unforced errors.  Hindsight is a great thing and nobody claims a

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 16 Comments
Mark Pack

How much chocolate can you put on a gingerbread man before he becomes standard-rated for VAT?

By Mark Pack | Mon 30th April 2012 - 8:25 am

You may not have considered this question before, so I’ll give you a little time to ponder it.

So, got your answer?

Here’s the official one from HMRC: standard-rate VAT applies to “Gingerbread men decorated with chocolate unless this amounts to no more than a couple of dots for eyes”.

But, but, but… what if the eyes are not chocolate and instead the gingerbread man has a couple of chocolate buttons instead? And what if, hurtling dangerously out of the 19th century, the gingerbread man is actually a gingerbread …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 30 Comments
Stephen Gilbert MP

Stephen Gilbert MP writes… The Pasty Tax is unfair, unworkable and unenforceable

By Stephen Gilbert MP | Sun 29th April 2012 - 2:05 pm

There’s an awful lot that we, as Liberal Democrats, should be proud of in this year’s budget: the uplift in the personal allowance that takes almost 2million of the lowest earners out of income tax; the support for small businesses to help stimulate growth and create jobs; and measures to give a helping hand to aspiring home owners.

But, there’s one measure which I’ve been unable to accept. Not just because it’s politically unpopular, but also because I believe Osborne has – on this occasion – got it wrong. I’m talking, of course, about the VAT extension to hot food dubbed …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 32 Comments
Mary Reid

LibLink: Stephen Gilbert – This half-baked pasty tax is offensive

By Mary Reid | Fri 27th April 2012 - 3:31 pm

You really must follow the link to the Guardian to see what  Stephen Gilbert, MP for St Austell & Newquay, is eating.

The pasty industry is rising up and marching, it seems.

He writes:

It’s just over a month since George Osborne presented his budget to the House of Commons but the uproar over the proposed “pasty tax” hasn’t subsided. The VAT extension on hot food, which would include the Cornish pasty, is not only politically unpopular, it’s also unworkable, unfair and based on a flawed logic.

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Today, I’m joining hundreds of people from the pasty industry to demonstrate

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged | 25 Comments
Dan Rogerson MP

Dan Rogerson MP writes… The crusade to protect the Cornish Pasty

By Dan Rogerson MP | Tue 3rd April 2012 - 12:11 pm

As the national political debate around the Budget moves on, one specific proposal is continuing to dominate both the headlines and my inbox – the so called ‘Pasty Tax’. The Chancellor’s proposals to change the VAT arrangements on hot food could see the tax being levied on pasties for the first time. The Treasury are currently consulting on the idea, and there remain some uncertainties that will need to be clarified.

I certainly understand the logic behind making sure that VAT is charged on hot food in places like large supermarkets to stop them undercutting local cafés and takeaways. But aside from the inevitable pasty puns in the press, there is serious concern across Cornwall.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 14 Comments
Mark Pack

The problem with the pasty tax? It’s not had enough media coverage

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th March 2012 - 7:25 am

No really. Despite the rush of politicians to recall when they last had a pasty or to be photographed eating one (me? south London, last weekend, Greggs, branch still open, no photo available), the problem is we’ve not had nearly enough media coverage of the pasty tax proposals.

“What?!?! Not enough coverage?!?!”, you might well wonder. But bear with me.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 8 Comments
Carl Quilliam

The weekend debate: Should Lib Dems support the pasty tax?

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 24th March 2012 - 10:52 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

The details of the budget have been trailed extensively in the media and the blogosphere. We’ve had the increase in the personal income tax allowance, we’ve had the ‘granny tax’ and we’ve had a new stamp duty level of 7% for homes worth more than £2m. There were always going to be winners and losers in this fiscally neutral budget. But arguably the one measure that affects every self-respecting Briton is …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 26 Comments
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