IS the VAT reduced as of now?

[DoubleBluff]

Or shall I wait before buying a laptop?

1st December i think.

Currys are doing it from tomorrow

next monday officially

i thought it was beg jan 09

Dec 1st

child benefit and pensioners benefits go up in the begining of Jan.

It's from December 1st - but retailers are not necessarily going to pass on the savings, they may just keep the 2.5% for themselves! Also, even if they do re-price, they may not get it done in time for Monday...

Currys and PC World already are as we are getting new laptop today

I remember when it went up from 15%. Worked for a leading high street retailer in head office and the repricing was a nightmare even with a computer system to recalculate it! I assume people do realise it only actually equates a 2.1% reduction in the retail price ?

good news - cynically I didn't expect much to happen!

How much is CB going up by?

It's Monday. We are buying new windows and I have just asked the supplier to invoice me on Monday rather than today - have saved £90 .

It's Monday 1st - BUT if the goods you are buying are due to be delivered after 1st December it can be from today! I would check with the retailer as some like this oneI have seen have gone straight in with the reduction while others haven't!

is there any legal obligation for shops to pass on the reduction? I would imagine the reduction would be pointless if it wasn't legally enforceable, as shops could then just claim that it would not be cost-effective for them to make the changes etc...

1st Dec
As I know due to spending all day in meetings about it

Anyone out there know ...

I am self employed with a v small business and pay fixed rate VAT at 11 per cent

Will there be a reduction on fixed rates now? If not I will be getting 2.5 less from the people who pay me but still be paying the govt the same rate and I will be

As I already was with this bunch of muppets

If anyone can tell me I'd be v grateful.

Is this Flat Rate VAT? If so, then yes, the rates have changed - look here on pages 43 and 44 to find out your new rate from Monday. It seems that mainly they've dropped by 1.5% so you should still be better off, but not by as much

Thanks very much indeed, Violet

So I will lose out

The minuscule chance of me voting for Gordo (only becuase I think the tories are loathsome too) has vanished. So much for the govt encouraging small business and entrepreneurship

How are the shops going to re-price goods in time?
Will the tills work it out.

1p off a Mars bar or £1 off a £50 jumper.

DoubleBluff you could miss out on a £400 laptop with £100 off offer at Tecos this week, to save £10 in when the Vat goes down and no offer at all.

Of course some large purchases (yachts, cars, caravans) if you put it off, could save you quite a bit once the VAT is reduced. Not that I'll be buying any of those myself.

They will probably do it at point of sale for timebeing then actually reprice afetr Christmas as new stock comes in .

If shops have bought stock with 17.5% VAT added I imagine they'll want to sell that stock at 17.5%, before reducing the price for new stock.

They will probably reduce prices on existing stock, to be seen to do so in line with competition, then keep new products after Christmas at the price they'd planned, so increasing profit margin to compensate. A lot of products change price, due to manufacturing cost increases being passed on in cost price, after the sales anyway so the consumer won't really know what is what as the effect is so slight.

Thabks for the tesco link

damn I knew I should have waited to get that yacht

bubble99 - when you buy you reclaim VAT at that rate, so if I buy stock at 17.5% I then reclaim the 17.5% from the government. When I sell I charge the customer 15% and pass that 15% on to the government IYSWIM