You're never too old to learn something new...

"I heard a story of a guy who put his Ginger Tom Cat in the Cats home for 3 months(You can imagine the size of the bill) When he expressed shock on getting the Cat out the bill was mysteriously reduced when he decided to pay in cash!! The Customs people are clearly not counting the cats in and out as they should be doing. If the Inland Revenue can sit outside a Fish and Chip Shop counting the punters then someone is falling down on the Job when it comes to this. Was it two businesses one for Cats and one for Dogs both below the threshold for VAT?Always ask for a VAT receipt to claim back the cost of the Cat when away on business."
I read this today in response to a post about a scam from petrol stations. When you fill up with petrol, if you don't take a VAT receipt, the garageiste prints it out anyway, then sells it to cab companies, who can not only claim the VAT back but also reduce their taxable earnings by the "extra" fuel used.
The point, though, is not that we all have a little larceny in our souls, but that I had never thought of claiming for the cat....

Eat in your carry out

It would appear that France has won a victory over the EU by getting restaurant meals' VAT reduced from 19.6% to just 5.5% That's a huge drop which would really make a difference to restaurants here.
Presumbaly, as the precedent has been set, it should be a doddle to get the same concession here.
Want to bet on it?

That 2.5% cut

People who say the VAT cut is a waste of time are clearly not retailers, or resellers of services.
Yes, if you are a supplier showing the VAT on an invoice, I doubt it is doing you any good.
However, if you do NOT show VAT, you have been handed an extra 2.5% profit margin. As someone explained to me " It's all about being able to keep people in work."
Selling eg a ticket for a show at £65 is fine, reducing it to £63.61 will have no appreciable effect.
But if instead you stick to the £65 and keep the extra £1.39 and multiply that across a few thousand tickets, you are starting to make wages.
Which just might be the difference between survival and bankruptcy.