Is An Electric Kettle A Luxury?

[trt]

I have just bought a new one, and the VAT is £7-odd, but why is it considered a luxury these days?

Surely, boiling a pan of water on a cooker is a bit outdated, & dangerous, so why the VAT?

[Jackdaw33]

VAT is not levied on luxuries alone.

[DTCwordfan]

just as dangerous as an electric kettle placed on an electric ring......ask my mater about that. VAT = very amped treatment.

[Postdog]

Try buying a pan without VAT...

[Buenchico]

£7 is more than I pay in total for a kettle!
http://direct.asda.com/george/home-garden/kettles/george-home-1-7l-cordless-kettle-white/001592064,default,pd.html

VAT isn't only charged on luxuries. It's charged on ALL goods and services, with just a few exceptions (such as most types of food and also children's clothing).

Using your argument, Trt, it could be argued that I shouldn't have had to pay VAT to a glazier today because putting glass where I'd only had cardboard for the past ten days probably isn't really a 'luxury'.

Similarly, buying basic adult clothing (such as a £6 pair of jeans from Asda) probably isn't a 'luxury' but there's still £1 of VAT in that total price.

Also, if you didn't have a kettle you'd still need to a pan to boil your water in and you'd have to pay VAT when you purchased the pan. Even domestic fuel bills have VAT on them (although, admittedly, only at 5%) and most people wouldn't regard heating their homes, or having electric light, as a 'luxury'.

[-Talbot-]

Of course it is ... we use an old sweetcorn can to boil water and drink our tea from rolled up newspapers.

[TWR]

TRT, I often go to Car Scrap Yards for bits for friends, they have the cheek to try for VAT there on 2nd hand used parts.

[DTCwordfan]

and he uses old teabags and extracts all from them - well done, Talbs....

[Mamyalynne]

TWR they may well be using one of the margin schemes.


https://www.gov.uk/vat-margin-schemes/overview

[ummmm]

TWR - if they are VAT registered then they charge VAT.

[snags]

''drink our tea from rolled up newspapers''

At least the paper is soft and warm when you wipe your arris with it (bog roll is taxed too).

[Elina]

Mines luxury TWR! ;0)

[granny grump]

Some products are Zero rated for VAT so that the rate can be changed more easily if necessary and some products are exempt

"Food and drink for human consumption is usually zero-rated but some items are standard-rated, including alcoholic drinks, confectionery, crisps and savoury snacks, hot food, sports drinks, hot takeaways, ice cream, soft drinks and mineral water.

Because certain food and drink is zero-rated, so are certain animals and animal feeds, and plants and seeds - if the animal or plant produces food that is normally used for human consumption.

I worked for Customs and Excise when VAT first came in - it was an eyeopener

[TWR]

Mam / Ummmm, I don't know if you are aware of these scrap yards, I have used them a lot in my passed for bits, a lot try it on until you stand your ground, In other words threaten to walk away, they soon do away with the VAT. Elina xx

[anneasquith]

How much are you paying for a kettle if the vat is £7 ?

[Prudie]

If that's a maths question £42, pretty standard for a decent stylish kettle

[Mamyalynne]

TWR, I have plenty of experience haggling in Scrap Yards - we were simply pointing out that a business can indeed charge VAT on second hand goods.

[trt]

It was this one, and its great,

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[anneasquith]

Nice!

[Mamyalynne]

Very smart that.

[New Judge]

To drag the thread off track, VAT is an iniquitous tax and was a necessity of EU membership. It requires huge numbers of scribes to administer it and virtually every organisation that pays it, bar end users, reclaim it. Earlier Purchase Tax was far easier to administer (simply being applied at the point of manufacture), far less open to fraud and the savings made in administration could be passed on to those paying purchase tax by reducing it.