VAT Decrease

For weddings, the Irish Hotel Federation has told its members to pass on the savings

THis happened before when Charlie McCreevy cut VAT rate, businesses pocketed it so they put the rate back up

Here's an article
http://www.independent.ie/business/...eductions-to-consumers-warns-ihf-2805713.html

If you've a deposit paid for a wedding and the hotel won't budge, just go ahead with the wedding and when it comes time to settle the bill, knock off the extra VAT yourself.
What are they going to do? Take you to court? Hah!


Your barber should have cut their prices too but don't haggle and call him greedy when he has a cut throat razor in his hand :eek:
 
umop3p!sdn said:
This is a laugh!

Yet more tinkering by FF/FG that will cause more problems than it solves.
Now we have talk of people boycotting businesses in this thread :D

Looking forward to the next hair brained scheme.
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What a very odd post. Why are you blaming FF and FG? Also why are you moaning about a tax cut? Would you prefer to see VAT rise?
 
A branch of a well known coffee and muffin chain in Dun Laoghaire issued me with a receipt this morning showing my VAT at 13.5%. Needless to say no manager around to deal with my query.
 
What a very odd post. Why are you blaming FF and FG? Also why are you moaning about a tax cut? Would you prefer to see VAT rise?
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I believe FF is the same as FG. The policies are the same anyway. Why not call it as it is? - a one party state.

You call it a 'tax cut'. Well the Government will just increase some other tax to cover it. (probably water or property tax) We are not going to pay less tax over the next few years. We probably should but that's discussion for another thread.

Now we have all these businesses having to alter VAT rates which is a huge PITA and appears to be causing disgruntled customers.
I'd be very surprised if my next hair cut is €9.60 instead of €10.
 
well I am happy the Sunday Independent and Sunday Business Post dropped from 2.70 each to 2.60 each. I wont notice any hotel prices decreases until Sept when I stay in an hotel again.
 
Went to Bar Pintxo (Tapas Bar in Temple Bar) on Saturday, nice spot.

Anyway, was pleasently surprised to see they had passed on the reduction.

Was finding it odd that the prices were a little random until it copped with me why. one thing was €6.27 on the printed menu handed to us, went online and saw it was €6.50, obviously the online menu hasn't been updated just yet.
 
You're always unlikely to immediately see results from small movements in VAT on low to medium cost items with the European system of displaying consumer prices with VAT built in.

Everyone expects to see a price ending in .99, .00, .50, etc. and that's the deciding factor in picking the final few digits on the pricing. The VAT portion is then worked backwards from this.

If restaurants do reduce prices to odd amounts, it'll be temporary and they'll eventually move back to normal price points or if you're lucky to the next lower price point.

When we go to the US we're always surprised they look for around 8% more at the till but the explicit taxation in the US makes it difficult for states to levy extremely high sales taxes in the 20%+ range. It also means a small movement in the rate either way has an instant effect on consumers.

You'll have politians feigning surprise at VAT decreases not being passed on, but when it comes to increasing VAT they'll be hoping that the retailers absorb it.
 
MrMan said:
Is there any get out clause that a hotel can use with regard avoiding a vat decrease? Getting married myself in a few months so any penny pinching is greatly appreciated!
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You could argue that your agreed composite price is X + VAT and that if they don't adjust the bill accordingly then you will. If VAT had gone up would they have applied that or not? and would you have argued for the agreed price? If they were any use than they would of course reduce the bill in line with the VAT reduction.
 
I'll give it a shot closer to the time and argue my case even though it's not cast iron, if I get my way I'll post the result.
 
MrMan, I would be surprised if the hotel would not adjust the price for you. I know some people that have negotiated good deals with hotels for wedding packages recently.
 
Many business owners will not pass this on.

Govt. are wasting 350m on this to create jobs.

350m out of the 500m funding of the jobs budget goes on this.

Vat Reductions have not worled in the UK.

It is a digrace that private pensions are being raided to fund this gimmick.
 
The VAT decrease is only temporary. I think there is a fair chance that when it is raised back up to 13.5%, a lot of businesses who have not cut their proces may decide to raise them on the grounds of "VAT has gone up, nothing we can do" and that people won't remember that they never decreased them in the first place

Or maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age?
 
A Pizza restaurant in Liffey Valley Shopping Centre still showing VAT at 13.5% on its receipts today (10 July). You would think if they didn't want to reduce the prices they would at least have the sense to take the VAT off the receipt!
 
Crunchie said:
A Pizza restaurant in Liffey Valley Shopping Centre still showing VAT at 13.5% on its receipts today (10 July). You would think if they didn't want to reduce the prices they would at least have the sense to take the VAT off the receipt!
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Do you think every shop and fast-food outlet has the IT skills in-house to change the VAT rate on their tills?
It's a stupid change that will do little or nothing to change things and people who make blanket statements about being ripped off by businesses that haven't reduced their rates are idiots. What's his name from Insomnia Coffee made the point on the radio the other morning that while Starbucks had passed on the VAT reduction Starbucks charged twice as much for the same product as they did.
 
Well then businesses won't mind corporation tax going up a tiny percentage since a 4% cut in the VAT rate is considered trivial and stupid. Or we can increase the VAT rate by 4% since people seem to think it matters so little.
 
Purple said:
Do you think every shop and fast-food outlet has the IT skills in-house to change the VAT rate on their tills?
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Probably not Purple but I do know that the large coffee and muffin chain I referred to in an earlier post confirmed to me that they rectified the rate on the day I contacted them so they clearly had the skills.

I also have no doubt that the restaurant I was in today, as a major multinational, is very likely to have the skills - but if I am wrong I'll be happy to clarify when I get their response.

I do think however that there is a huge inertia when it comes to paying for goods and services. Most, if not all, of us have taken a hit in our incomes in some way or other and have had to tighten our belts and the €5+ in excess "VAT" that I paid in the examples I quoted does matter to me. So if finding it unacceptable that a large organisation continues to indicate its VAT rate at 13.5% makes me one of the "idiots" you refer to in your post Purple I'll happily wear the badge :)
 
Purple said:
Do you think every shop and fast-food outlet has the IT skills in-house to change the VAT rate on their tills?
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Purple, if the VAT rate increased, you'd see an instant change in the rate shown on receipts.
 
My 3 ice cream cones were the same price in Mount Merrion yesterday. What about all the businesses that don't offer receipts to their customers. No drop in prices at the DunLaoghaire Farmers Market either.
 
I know of one Super Valu that have decreased the VAT against coffess and such, but will be upping the cost price of it so there will be no change in the price at all and of course they benefit. I know this because someone who works there has told me.
 
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