Treasury to close loophole that allows VAT-free DVD

[Ferhan]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15646470

a sad day for the blu-ray/dvd consumer in UK

[Billz]

[lgans316]

Should we in the UK pay VAT for goods exceeding 15 GBP that are shipped by play.com or hmv or other Jersey / Channel Islands based retailers?

[Albatross365]

Forget the £15 limit.

If I read this correctly, there will be no limit for the Channel Islands. All will be subject to VAT

[No1_Dave]

this really sucks, very bad news for the consumers, yeah government loves to get more tax, uk companies will probably love the news, but the most important people, the people/consumers who actually pay for the products, got the raw end of the deal

[hedliniv]

Does this affect US customers of amazon.co.uk? That's horrible news for our uk members!

[Boomstick_316]

Good. If this means the end of Play.com and their shitty customer service, then I shall organise a party. Never have I wished any company to go bankrupt as much as Play.

[No1_Dave]

and no more low prices from hmv, thehutgroup, and Play, and amazon which price matches those three?

[psicon]

A story about losing out on 140 million a year in taxes when Vodafone are reported to have been let off up to 6 billion in taxes.
Screw the little guy while pretending to look out for the little guy. Business as usual.

[Tafsir]

Rip-Off Britain , as we call it ,

our government, just loves ripping us off

just hope the british sites lower there prices, then

[No1_Dave]

yeah, that's really what annoys me, 140 mil sounds a lot, but really a drop in the ocean in the government finances, plenty of better/more effective ways to collect more tax, should be taxing the very rich more, not the average joe who just wants a good deal buying online.

[josuv22]

Originally Posted by hedliniv

Does this affect US customers of amazon.co.uk? That's horrible news for our uk members!

no it only effects those in the UK/northern Ireland.

[Nighteyes]

Originally Posted by josuv22

no it only effects those in the UK/northern Ireland.

But indirectly, it will affect the rest of the world as well since it cuts into their sales and profits, right? Meaning price levels for UK stuff will likely go up rather than down.

[Racetrack]

This will only increase illegal downloading. Short sighted move by the government.

[The Driver]

Save me repeating myself.

Surprised to hear that and I assume these Crown Dependencies will be pretty angry. Not that I'm bothered about them as they seem to always have their cake and eat it. Maybe this is a start of something else with the UK government positioning itself to change how it works with these manky little backwaters. Maybe it's time they actually became European (and that tax application would be illegal). Or will they just stick to their tax-dodging decades-long existence?

Still, bad for UK buyers and even worse for the ridiculous Rakuten who seem to think Play.com are in the UK. They just shut Priceminister.co.uk too and now direct everyone to Play.com. Why they bought PM I don't know be cause it's crap, nobody's heard of them, the site was pants (and unlawful in many consumer areas) and needed putting down.

I think we need Play.com as it's always worked as a balance to UK pricing so I hope we don't lose them.

I really don't care for the Channel Islands because they seem to bring nothing to the UK. Yes, I've enjoyed filling their pockets over the last decade or so but they need to join the UK if they want the advantages of being in the UK. And that's not going to happen because they are part of England. Maybe Germany will take them over again?

This will be very detremental to TheHut/Zavvi/IDontOwnAGoldFish and all those other companies who do nothing apart from tax dodge and fill jiffy bags. I'm sure they already find it difficult but now several will disappear very quickly.

It'll all come out in the wash but I'm expecting higher prices obviously.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Nighteyes

But indirectly, it will affect the rest of the world as well since it cuts into their sales and profits, right? Meaning price levels for UK stuff will likely go up rather than down.

I believe it would depend on what site you order from. Some sites, like Amazon, list prices with VAT included to begin with, so it's not likely that those prices will increase. However, those sites in the loophole that have already factored VAT out of their pricing will have to re-include it, essentially raising their prices.

[HotRats]

These companies won't necessarily relocate onshore and pay full tax, they'll ship into the lowest tax point of entry into the EU (probably Sweden) if that works out more profitable after adding the additional postage costs. Is this going to apply only to goods shipped from the Channel Islands, or are the government planning on completely abolishing the £15 limit?

George Osborne, putting the n in cut.

[The Driver]

Originally Posted by HotRats

...or are the government planning on completely abolishing the £15 limit?

That would be illegal under EU law. The government played with that idea until they checked the facts (inconvenient I know but it's best to check these things). AFAIK there would need to be a new EU-wide regulation altering the figure.

I can't see many tax-dodger companies moving to the UK, Sweden or even Switzerland because it's all about setup/start-up costs. If it were a paper company (like Amazon set up in Luxembourg for most tax but aren't actually selling/stocking/storing widgets there) then OK but I'm not aware of any people in these countries that do bulk pressed media reshipping off the shelf. Maybe there is and if you can invest it would be easy enough to do. It's all about the money.

Worth noting though that these Channel Island-based companies have been pre-paying VAT/Duty for years on stuff over £18 [that actually ships from there]. They have pre-payment agreements with the Jersey Post/Guernsey Post & the Royal Mail (who act as their import agent, collect the tax/duty, a smaller fee than they charge us and pay the Queen's tax collector).

Anyone want to buy Rakuten? One careful owner

[Pyoko]

Originally Posted by HotRats

These companies won't necessarily relocate onshore and pay full tax, they'll ship into the lowest tax point of entry into the EU (probably Sweden) if that works out more profitable after adding the additional postage costs.

Sweden has the highest VAT rate in the EU. Also I think I read somewhere that you can only do business that way up to a point. This is the reason Amazon.co.uk has to charge VAT depending on the destination country.

[Natty]