God Help Us If This 20% VAT Comes Into Effect In Jan 2011
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
November 7, 2010 7:06pm CST
In a previous discussion I mentioned the fact that make-up has suddenly shot up in price and it got me thinking that - practially EVERYTHING will go up in price come the New Year due to VAT going up from 17.5% to 20%. I liked it when it was (temporarily) at 15% last year but that seems like a distant memory now.
Because my computer is running sooo slow now (it will be 10 years' old in September next year) I mentioned it to hubby and he seemed to think that a "tower" could be bought for around £200. Not so! More like a hundred pounds extra and that's BEFORE the VAT increase is upon us.
I'm fed up of "Rip-Off Britain" I really am.
Do you have VAT where you are? It's short for Value Added Tax for those who don't know..and it's on practically everything we buy..unfortunately.
Because my computer is running sooo slow now (it will be 10 years' old in September next year) I mentioned it to hubby and he seemed to think that a "tower" could be bought for around £200. Not so! More like a hundred pounds extra and that's BEFORE the VAT increase is upon us.
I'm fed up of "Rip-Off Britain" I really am.
Do you have VAT where you are? It's short for Value Added Tax for those who don't know..and it's on practically everything we buy..unfortunately.2 responses
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
14 Nov 10
We have a GST here which is Goods and Services Tax. It is 10% on nearly everything. The government at the time brought it into effect in the year 2000 after saying in the early nineties that Australia would never have a GST under their government. New Zealand had brought this tax in some years earlier than us and theirs is up to 12.5 % now I think. We thankfully have not had any rises in the 10 years that it has been in place. (I think the government realise they would most likely lose the following election if the upped it)! 
They did promise that income tax would be reduced to make up for the extra tax on everything. It was supposed to make the tax system fairer, meaning those who spent more, got taxed more, but it just seems like everything is more expensive in relation to the money that we earn these days. Everything just costs so much that people have trouble saving so they turn to the bad old credit card to survive.
GST also made accounting harder for business owners. We have some things that we have to add GST on and some things that we don't. It can become confusing at times. It was much easier without it in my opinion. 
They did promise that income tax would be reduced to make up for the extra tax on everything. It was supposed to make the tax system fairer, meaning those who spent more, got taxed more, but it just seems like everything is more expensive in relation to the money that we earn these days. Everything just costs so much that people have trouble saving so they turn to the bad old credit card to survive.
GST also made accounting harder for business owners. We have some things that we have to add GST on and some things that we don't. It can become confusing at times. It was much easier without it in my opinion. @Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
14 Nov 10
It sounds just as complicated as our VAT system. The fact of the matter is; everything has gone up!
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
14 Nov 10
It seems like a common complaint in just about every country. It has just become more expensive to live these day. We all need to simplify our lives and not try to keep up with the Joneses who seem to have all the good stuff. People are working far too hard just to maintain a lifestyle which in reality does not bring them any joy. 
@hardworkinggurl (37062)
• United States
8 Nov 10
Amazing how everything but salaries seems to be going up. Employees are not able to keep up with cost of living anymore as just about everything here in the US continually increasing. Oh I don't know but another depression sounds like it is headed in our direction.
Because sales are down for some reason they feel that increasing the prices will gain them more, quite the contrary as on one can afford a great many things anymore. Scary.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
8 Nov 10
Everything you say mirrors what is going on here. You are quite right about salaries not going up. My husband does receive about 3 bonuses a year (taxed of course) BUT hasn't had a pay-rise for quite some time. In the meantime everything he buys (and the bills) have gone up.
Doesn't seem fair, somehow.
Then you get the likes of Satan Tesco making huge profits every year with their own staff getting paid peanuts.
Then you get the likes of Satan Tesco making huge profits every year with their own staff getting paid peanuts.