M&S teacake costs taxman 3.5 million.

[loulou]

The UK Treasury is facing a 3.5m bill, because of VAT wrongly imposed on a Marks and Spencer teacake, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.

Customers paid VAT for 20 years before the authorities accepted the product was a cake, which does not command VAT.

The UK argued that paying back the total sum would "unjustly enrich" M&S as customers had paid the money.

The ECJ ruled that, in principle, VAT had to be repaid in full, but left the final decision to the British courts.

[smurfboy]

Luckily I've kept the receipts for all the M&S teacakes I've ever bought, so I'll be collecting about 512 quid.

[loulou]

Excellent.  Can we spend it all on M&S walnut whips?

No they are levying extra tax on them now as sex equipment. paulham2008-04-13 18:46:06

[MayRae]

If they cannot find all the people who paid the extra tax in order to give them their money back then they should use the money to open homeless shelters or something else that would help those less fortunate in the UK.

The one thing they should not do in my opinion is give the money to Marks and Spencer.

Just considering that is completely bonkers.

If the government did that Marks and Spencer would have recieved the money twice. Once at the point of purchase when they overcharged the customer, and once again now that the mistake has been discovered.

Madness.

 

 

[smurfboy]

But they didn't receive it when they overcharged the customer - they gave it to the VAT man!

[MayRae]

Ooops my mistake.

I misread the information. Sorry

 

But still it shouldn't be given to M&S it isn't theirs after all.

 

I still think that if the customers who paid it cannot be found to be recompensed the it should be given to a charity in this coutry. It's not like there aren't plenty of them who could think of some wonderful things to do with that kind of money.

This has resonances with the McVite's Jaffa cake issue. 

[smurfboy]

I agree it doesn't make much sense giving it to M&S, as there's no way they could trace all their customers over that period (let alone check what they bought!) However, if it's a choice between them getting it and the VAT man holding on to it, I know which I'd pick...

[MayRae]

Yes me too.

And.....If we could find out where the VAT men were making the drop.

We could liberate it smurfboy.

Just as a show of protest, of course. 

[smurfboy]

Of course