snipurl.com/11yu1
This ruling is expected to allow British shoppers to buy goods from the EU, including booze & cigarettes and pay the duty in the originating country and have the items shipped to your door.
Question is - can we start doing the same with fuel? It would be one in the eye of GB to have his huge tax raking ability removed by EU harmonisation :-) This could explain their sudden interest in pay as you drive as they realise people here are sick of paying huge amounts for a commodity which others in the EU pay a lot less for.
Sometimes the EU is worth being in just to annoy GB :-)
Polish petrol anyone?!
teabelly
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not before time.........can't wait.........was in Krakow a month ago, couldn't believe the cheap prices
Polish beer would go down well too........roughly £1.20 a pint and that was in bars and restaurants. They are all worried about the Euro, which apparently is looming for them.........they're all expecting big price hikes.
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Unfourtunately, there are other legal restrictions on fuel. like how it can be transported (tankers not allowed on ships or the chunnel) nor are you allowed to store it at home.
So by bye cheap polish petrol.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Well they certainly bring diesel over here,loaded up to the gunnels in their big trucks with auxilliary fuel tanks.
How much is diesel in these countries ?
But of course,you all know deep down,that the Sheriff of Downing Street is not going to let you get away with it.
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It doesn't matter. The way this country is run with its current priorities it needs a certain amount of tax. Now you all don't like it because its on petrol. So they'll put it on something else.
Where do you think the tax money goes ? I know you believe its all on ministers' perks, but its not (even if it was those would be the last things to be cancelled).
So if the tax revenue on petrol goes down what do you think happens ? The government thinks "oh well, that's that then" or do you think the government might address the shortfall.
If you want to pay less tax then stop worrying about how it is collected and start worrying about how it is spent. Reduce the spending and then you can reduce the tax. Otherwise its just rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic.
And if you want to change how taxation revenue is spent then first try to understand the true issue (i.e. NOT the price of petrol) and then tackle your MP and press in a meaningful manner - which doesn't mean whining about the price of petrol or beer.
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Many people already exploit loopholes available online quite legitimately to buy goods from outlets outside the UK - Tesco, for instance, has a Jersey base (jersey.tesco.com/default.aspx ) where you can buy DVDs very reasonably and 7DayShop in Geurnsey is another source.
I am, of course, aware that the Channel Islands is part of the UK but it's interesting, IIRC, that Gordon Brown took steps to close down the loophole in the near future.
The big UK companies have, to the best of my knowledge, been bringing in beer and spirits from the Continent (thus paying very much lower excise duties) for some years, hence the cheap prices in supermarkets and similar outlets.
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What's for you won't pass you by
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"The way this country is run with its current priorities it needs a certain amount of tax"
How much is that amount of tax that it needs ?
The way I see it , the Government is never happy with a fixed percentage, but come to power,with the express intention of taking ever increasing amounts from the taxpayer, and motorists (to preserve the motoring theme)are as usual,a very easy target,moreso with the so called Greens lobbying for such increases.
Old Gordo can then legitamately tax us more on the back of this.
And no,we don't feel the benefits of these increased taxes at least I don't.
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I've been to Poland and things are cheap compared to UK - but only if you are paying with your UK earnings. If you are a Pole on Polish pay then its not so cheap and life is not that great - which is why they are coming to the UK in vast numbers, of course. Decent infrastructure has to be paid for, and by international standards the UK tax take (as a fraction of GDP) is a little below average. The snag with the UK tax system is that it has become rather too regressive over the past couple of decades - income tax and NI tops-out at what is now a fairly income low level and taxes have been shifted to spending. I also find it strange that the UK is one of very few countries in the world that taxes earned income higher than unearned income (think about NI).
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The Channel Islands are not part of the UK.....they are part of the British Isles. An important political difference that means Gordon Brown can't interfere with the Channel Islands' tax policies.
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>>that means Gordon Brown can't interfere with the Channel Islands' tax policies.>>
Good...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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But are they part of the EEC?
If they are, he can interfere
If they are not they can not recieve EEC funding, nor take part in the EEC market or open borders.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The islands are not in the E U and are a separate feudal state. The import of goods into the UK from outside of the EU below the value of £18 falls into 'triviality' ie more expensive to collect the VAT payable than the amount collected.
The point of closing the loophole came about where goods were literally touching down in the islands befre entering the EU therefore the authorities of the islands were gaining no benefit fro this sort of trade. Companies with a legitimate business based there are not affected at all-in fact the most pressure came from the islands rather than the uk goverment!
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The islands are not in the E U and are a separate feudal state. >>
Aren't they a British Crown Protectorate? (or something like that)
Sounds like the best of both worlds to me.
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Sark is Feudal, The rest are not.
Status of the Islands
The Islands are not part of the United Kingdom and have no representation in Parliament at Westminster. The "Crown Dependencies" comprise:
the Bailiwick of Guernsey (including Alderney, Sark and Herm)
the Isle of Man
the Bailiwick of Jersey
They are internally self-governing "Dependencies" of the Crown included in the term "British Islands". They are "British Possessions" but not "colonies" (schedule 1 to the Interpretation Act 1978). To distinguish them from the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (which term has replaced "Dependent Territories"), they should be referred to as "Crown Dependencies". You should ensure that any consultative or other process for overseas territories takes in all the Crown Dependencies.
The European Union
The Channel Islands and Isle of Man are not Member States nor are they part of the UK Member State.
The relationship of the Islands to the European Community is governed by Article 299(6)(c) of the Treaty establishing the European Community and by Protocol 3 to the UK's Act of Accession to the Community. By virtue of Article 299(6)(c), the EC Treaty applies to the Islands only to the extent described in Protocol 3. This provides that Community rules on customs matters and quantitative restrictions apply to the Islands under the same conditions as they apply to the UK; the Islands are inside the Community Customs Territory and certain aspects of the Common Agricultural Policy are applicable in order to allow free movement in agricultural products.
Community provisions on the free movement of persons and services do not apply to the Islands. Islanders benefit from these provisions within the rest of the Community only if they have close ties with the UK (i.e. if they, a parent or grandparent were born, adopted or naturalised in the UK or have at any time been ordinarily resident in the UK for five years).
The Islands neither contribute to nor are eligible to benefit from Community funds. They are not subject to Community measures on taxation, nor are they for any purposes within the EU's fiscal territory.
Protocol 3 also provides for the application in the Islands of the European Coal and Steel Community unified tariff. The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) Treaty applies to persons and undertakings established in the Islands.
Although measures on police and criminal judicial co-operation adopted under Title 6 of the Treaty on European Union do not apply to the Islands, the United Kingdom has undertaken to consult the Islands fully about such measures in order that the Islands can consider whether, and if so to what extent, they wish to adopt legislation or administrative practices to improve police and criminal judicial co-operation with Member States.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I don't think Britain's trade with Jersey is damaging to either party.
However, the proposed changes could be very damaging to many countries in Europe - not just Britain. We hardly need more alcohol or tobacco.
I would like to see more tax on items I can avoid, I don't smoke and I drink little.
If the tax comes off these unneceesary items, it will only be levied on necessary items (put it on fuel, please - I can avoid that as well), or directly.
Aprillia said 'I also find it strange that the UK is one of very few countries in the world that taxes earned income higher than unearned income (think about NI).'
I agree - it's very strange of a Labour goverment to actually increase this workers' tax.
I can't see any reason to rejoice if the ruling is in favour of the Dutch wine drinkers.
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Sark is Feudal, >>
Not any more. The seigneur's position has just been reduced to a figurehead, and there are to be elections.
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