Government Vouchers for "Covid Hit" Industries

[Orcs]

You're right, Matey.

You only pay VAT on 'sit in' meals, don't you....Takeaways don't attract VAT. (I think) :-

Cheers - Phil

V
VAT has been payable on "hot" takeaway food for years Phil

[Orcs]

So you get 50%  (up to £10 a head ) off your meal out on Monday - Wednesday.

Not sure how this is going to help. The cynic in me suggests  all this will do is get people to go out on these days rather than the rest of the week. I doubt they will spend any more than normal (you can only eat so much) and effectively pocket the discount.

[Raider4]

You only pay VAT on 'sit in' meals, don't you....Takeaways don't attract VAT. (I think) :-

Remembers the days when the burgers in Wimpy were a different price* depending on eat-in or takeaway, and were served in different colour wrappers to indicate which.

A friend of mine was chased out for daring to sneak his take-out burger up to the upstairs dining area.

* Think the difference was only 3p or something.

[Techno]

VAT has been payable on "hot" takeaway food for years Phil

Thanks, Mark. 

What I find the most confusing, re the VAT on hot food is.....

If it's VAT rated if it's destined for "immediate" consumption...(I believe that's 'the rule'.).....That would/could include something like a kebab, which could be eaten as soon as you're outside the takeaway....Same for fish and chips....You could eat either of those straightaway.

But what about a Chinese takeaway ?........You can't really eat that, as soon as you're outside the 'shop'....Got to wait until you're home. So that's not what I'd class as ''immediate'.......But, if there is VAT on it (20%) that might make them slightly cheaper, for the time being, 'cos the VAT will go down to 5% ?

Finally...Wasn't there 'a row'' about hot sausage rolls, a few years ago ?..........'They' added VAT, and then took it off again, when it was decided that a lot of folk ate them later, when the rolls had cooled down.

Cheers - Phil.

[steve_holmes_11]

I sell garden fencing for very, very small gardens...

That's the spirit!

[Leon]

Assuming (ahem) that the £10 off per customer is valid in takeaways, as well as restaurants.......Bet it isn't.

It's not sadly...!

Not sure how this is going to help. The cynic in me suggests  all this will do is get people to go out on these days rather than the rest of the week. I doubt they will spend any more than normal (you can only eat so much) and effectively pocket the discount.

I suppose so but you're getting a half-price meal and then the government will be reimbursing the restaurant with the other 50%, so it gets more people going out for food and the businesses don't take the loss.

What I find the most confusing, re the VAT on hot food is.....

When they say 'hot' food it's purely hot food taken away from a pub, restaurant or cafe, so not proper takeaways.  It's to tempt people back to the businesses that have mainly been closed through this, and encourage a few more sales for them.  The question is going to be whether the pub/restaurant/cafe actually discounts the prices to reflect the VAT reduction, or whether they just pocket the difference themselves.  I could understand them doing that after so much lost revenue, but it's a little self-defeating when you're supposed to be taking advantage of a discounted VAT period where you can entice customers in without losing any money.

[Steve J]

I wonder whether the menu prices will increase to help offset the losses incurred so far? A friend popped by yesterday and mentioned her son's normal barber had increased his prices from £14 (normal for Bristol) to £20 per haircut.

[Techno]

Ouch !

The other thing that might happen with the VAT reduction, is that the actual price of the meal may not go down.....it could just mean that the pub/restaurant won't have to pass on so much to the Vatman.  (?)

Cheers - Phil

[fsn]

The mildly lovely Scotch "Sheep Dip" was apparently so named so that farmers could escape the scrutiny of the tax man.

May I propose a new range of Pendraken figures?
The burger and chips
The sweet and sour beef
The vegan rainbow falafel mezze

[Orcs]

Ouch !

The other thing that might happen with the VAT reduction, is that the actual price of the meal may not go down.....it could just mean that the pub/restaurant won't have to pass on so much to the Vatman.  :- (?)

Cheers - Phil

Apparently this is exactly what happened in other countries that did a similar thing

[Techno]

The mildly lovely Scotch "Sheep Dip" was apparently so named so that farmers could escape the scrutiny of the tax man.

The naughty boys ! 

From the 'other angle'.......

Was there an episode in either Ballykissangel or Hamish Macbeth where some naughty farmers made a load of fake sheep, by painting appropriately sized boxes white ?
This was to fool the 'powers that be', that the farmers weren't over-claiming the number of sheep they had, for their subsidies.....(Which they were)....And having been told of satellite imagery, hatched the white box idea, to make it appear that they had far more sheep than they really owned.

Cheers - Phil

[O Dinas Powys]

Ouch !

The other thing that might happen with the VAT reduction, is that the actual price of the meal may not go down.....it could just mean that the pub/restaurant won't have to pass on so much to the Vatman.  :- (?)

Cheers - Phil

Apparently this is exactly what happened in other countries that did a similar thing

Isn't that the whole point of this particular VAT reduction: to put the money into the business to help keep it viable rather than passing it on to the consumer?

Just like the £10 off Monday-Wednesday, it's aimed at helping keep mid-tier restaurants open.

Bottom-tier, fast food multinationals are doing okay and can't do eat-in anyway; £10 a meal isn't going to help upper tier places where it's £50 a starter, but social distancing is more feasible for them; £10 off and a VAT windfall just might help a bit.

Personally, I think it's a sticking plaster over an artery that's about to rupture - whether enough of these little sticking plasters will build up into a dressing strong enough to stop the impending gush only time will tell...

[Techno]

I think you're probably right, Meirion. 

The VAT saving isn't going to make much difference in getting folk back into pubs and restaurants.....The £10 off might encourage a few people, but I'll still be oh, so wary of going anywhere like a pub or restaurant at the mo'.

I fear it'll be a good few months yet, before I feel confident enough to 'mix' with strangers in a 'confined space'.....even with the social distancing.

Cheers - Phil

[DecemDave]

I fear it'll be a good few months yet, before I feel confident enough to 'mix' with strangers in a 'confined space'.....even with the social distancing.

Which, sadly, will keep the wargame conference and competition circuits closed as well.  I remember one year at the Waperntak bring and buy, I could take my feet off the ground and be carried along in the crush.   

[Raider4]

I fear it'll be a good few months yet, before I feel confident enough to 'mix' with strangers in a 'confined space'.....even with the social distancing.

Went for our first eating-out for over 3 months on Wednesday - cooked breakfast at our local cafe. Fewer tables than there used to be, and only one other person in there. We sat as far away from them as we could . . . Slightly odd experience (giving over a name & contact number with our order), but the food was delicious.