Bringing goods from the EU

[Misterdog]

Just out of interest:

- US inflation since 1973 is 508%
- UK inflation since 1973 is 963%

Just factoring inflation into the exchange rate - $2.6:£ x 508/963 = £1.37:£

Precisely what the rate is today! Completely unremarkable, yet a complete surprise!

So joining the EU has caused an additional 455% inflation

 

[Jacob]

So joining the EU has caused an additional 455% inflation

Thatcher more likely.

 

[sploo]

It shows how only looking at the exchange rate drop in 2016 is non-sense. The lack of understanding of exchange rate issues is as similar as the lack of understanding of trade in general.
A little knowledge and all that.
Though the little knowledge by the 2 sides has caused this whole fiasco.

The four years of argument prior to Brexit, followed by another 4 years of unravelling the leave process, will result in 8 years of having gone no where.
Merely to assuage the principles of some.

Though that is the price for democracy.

I'd say the large step in the exchange rate on the day the vote results were known would be a rather more accurate assessment. It has of course recovered somewhat since the deal was signed.

 

[Rorschach]

As someone who exports a lot of items to the US I am well in favour of a weak £.

 

[sploo]

The failure to hold government to account is entirely a failure of journalism. Of course poiticians lie, of course politicians are psychopathic, deviant weirdos - the job positively attracts them. But when the journalists lie on behalf of the establishment, to enable the establishment, then the system has failed. We live in in a post democratic world, as shown so ably by the American election farce. Brexit may have been the very last "democratic" step that will ever be taken without resorting to violence, and Brexit won't actually be any real Brexit, as understood by the people who voted for it.

I recently read an interesting article on the subject of modern reporting vs the propensity for untruth by politicians. It pointed out that, in this "real time" age, there's a race to be the first to report news, and as such media organisations essentially broadcast what has been said by politicians pretty much immediately.

Clearly there are those that have understood the power that can be gained by that; and the reality that by the time any fact checking is done they'll have moved on to the next untruth. By keeping a constant stream of interesting (but ultimately likely misleading) information in flow, there's never time for the previous lie to be debunked.

The suggestion in the article was that media organisations should essentially give a "time out" to politicians that lie - i.e. refuse to broadcast their new statements for a period of time (or until the politician apologies and corrects the statement).

Maybe, given the rapid advances in AI technology, we might be able to get to a stage where we have real time bulls**t detectors - that can fact check politicians literally as they speak. My preference would be to use the BS sign from the Airplane film

 

[sploo]

As someone who exports a lot of items to the US I am well in favour of a weak £.

Yea, I said "recovered", but other than some odd sense of pride in your currency being "strong", whether a strong or weak GBP is good entirely depends on the financial interests of the individual.

 

[Misterdog]

but other than some odd sense of pride in your currency being "strong",

Though it could be the other currency that is strong/weak.
No currency has a fixed value and exchange always involves 2 currencies.

 

[sploo]

Though it could be the other currency that is strong/weak.
No currency has a fixed value and exchange always involves 2 currencies.

Absolutely. I guess the question is: is a strong or weak currency "better" for the majority? I suppose the majority are more likely import (i.e. purchase) than export, but the the total value of those individual imports may be low compared to commercial transactions (which will also include exports).

 

[DennisCA]

I'm reading some nonsense that says those who in the EU are supposed to charge the UK VAT rate and then hand it over to the UK and registering with the HM Revenue and Customs for this purpose (also not free).

Needless to say a lot of businesses will not accept that and just decline UK orders. I hope there's some misunderstanding.

 

[sploo]

I'm reading some nonsense that says those who in the EU are supposed to charge the UK VAT rate and then hand it over to the UK and registering with the HM Revenue and Customs for this purpose (also not free).

Needless to say a lot of businesses will not accept that and just decline UK orders. I hope there's some misunderstanding.

I think this is an EU-wide directive (that has been accepted into UK law); i.e. it's not a result of Brexit. Essentially, it's about trying to close loopholes. I read a good article on it a couple of days ago... which I now can't find

 

[artie]

I was domiciled for a short time in Ontario Canada in the middle to late 70s.
IIRC Provincial sales tax at that time was around 5%
The vendor charged the 5% and sent 3 or 3.5 % on to the authorities keeping the difference for his trouble.
I thought it a nifty idea.
It may have been Federal tax, it a long time ago.

 

[billw]

Though it could be the other currency that is strong/weak.
No currency has a fixed value and exchange always involves 2 currencies.

Although some currencies are pegged to others, eg the Singapore Dollar and Brunei Dollar are fixed at 1:1, the Hong Kong Dollar is pegged to the US Dollar at between 7.75 and 7.85 (intervention would occur if the rate moved further).

 

[Droogs]

I'm reading some nonsense that says those who in the EU are supposed to charge the UK VAT rate and then hand it over to the UK and registering with the HM Revenue and Customs for this purpose (also not free).

Needless to say a lot of businesses will not accept that and just decline UK orders. I hope there's some misunderstanding.

I talked about this when the law was passed a few months ago and was told to stop fear mongering. It is nothing to do with the EU it is a purely British government bill and was needed to enable us to be even able to apply WTO rules in case of a no deal.
EU businesses can still sell you stuff and send it and not bother with observing the need to charge vat or pass it on as the EU can't enforce the law as it is a law that falls directly under British sovereignty, nothing to do with the EU. So You can buy stuff and pay for it and pay the vat at purchase but no way to guarantee the company will do the do and makes sure it gets through customs and no come back for you if it doesn't or the government, if they let it slip through.

 

[Noel]

I'm reading some nonsense that says those who in the EU are supposed to charge the UK VAT rate and then hand it over to the UK and registering with the HM Revenue and Customs for this purpose (also not free).

Needless to say a lot of businesses will not accept that and just decline UK orders. I hope there's some misunderstanding.

As said, it's a GB "arrangement". And yes, many will not bother dealing with GB customers.
I saw this mentioned elsewhere, from one of your local retailers:

https://scandinavianoutdoor.com/customerservice/villkor/

 

[sploo]

As said, it's a GB "arrangement". And yes, many will not bother dealing with GB customers.
I saw this mentioned elsewhere, from one of your local retailers:

https://scandinavianoutdoor.com/customerservice/villkor/

Interesting. So if an EU seller ships something to a UK address without charging VAT then what happens? Will it get stopped for UK import duty and UK VAT? Will it just be let through (on the assumption that the EU seller should have already charged the VAT)?

I suppose there are likely differences for small low value items that would slip under the radar, vs more valuable items that are coming in via a courier (who won't usually release the item without payment of charges).

 

[billw]

I doubt the tax authorities will assume anything! It’s an extra load of hassle for EU sellers so I do suspect some will cease U.K. deliveries but others won’t.

 

[marcros]

I doubt the tax authorities will assume anything! It’s an extra load of hassle for EU sellers so I do suspect some will cease U.K. deliveries but others won’t.

There is a BBC article that says pretty much that.

BBC News - EU firms refuse UK deliveries over Brexit tax changes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55530721

 

[billw]

It can’t be any worse than trying to get stuff sent to Gibraltar, which was in the EU but not the customs union.

“We can’t send things to Europe without charging VAT” erm yes you can.

“Since you’re not in Europe we have to charge the worldwide shipping fee.” But I’m in Europe?

Every parcel sent by post has to be collected in person and you had to show your ID and declare what it was. Sometimes they’d open it to check. Sometimes they’d make you pay duty and sometimes they just couldn’t be bothered to pick the calculator up.

 

[sploo]

I see from the Beeb article:

"This essentially means that overseas retailers sending goods to the UK are expected to register for UK VAT and account for it to HMRC if the sale value is less than €150 (£135)."

That's a breathtakingly arrogant expectation; so I can see why retailers are telling the UK to fornicate off.

The stuff I'm being quoted for is well over that figure, and would be delivered by courier, so I guess the courier will treat it like an import from (say, the USA) and charge the duty and VAT. Well, usually import duty on the value of the item + shipping, plus VAT on the import duty charge, plus VAT on the item value, plus (usually) a handling charge (the fee for their time to charge you a fee)... and then (of course) the VAT on the handling charge (the tax on the fee for their time to charge you a fee).

I'm basking in the warm glow of reduced red tape, and freedom. Cough.

 

[RobinBHM]

The failure to hold government to account is entirely a failure of journalism

No, it's a failure of democracy.

Billionaire newspaper owners who live in tax havens give money to the political party that ensures they keep their tax havens.

Until political parties are stopped from taking money in exchange for policy influence there can be no democracy.

Brexit may have been the very last "democratic" step

Driven by populist strategy.......and populism shares no connection with democracy.