Politics and the Pasty Tax
The coalition government of Conservatives and Lib Dems is in power in the UK and Tory-bashing is rife in some parts of society.
I started following British politics soon after I moved to London and realised for the first time that I actually understood what was happening. I suppose it helps to have just 3 main parties as opposed to the mad multi-party, multi-region politics that one sees in India where even politicians struggle to keep up with who’s with them and who’s not.
After having decided that I was just right of centre, in the last year I found myself nodding in appreciation of the Coalition (or Tory) policies that promised to drag the UK out of recession and improve general ‘happiness levels’ in British society. However The Political Compass test informs me that I am actually a left-leaning libertarian. It comes as surprise to me that my political leanings are closer to Gandhi and Nelson Mandela rather than to Margaret Thatcher. Either this test is suspect or else, god forbid, I’m turning into a lefty!!
And this is my test result!
This might then explain my immense dismay at the ‘Pasty’ tax. So some hot pies and pasties sold at outlets like Greggs (who incidentally have got more free publicity from this in a week than in 7 years) is now subject to a VAT while cold food is not. My first thought on this was – Aha! This is most certainly a case of discrimination against the South Asian community as we LOVE our hot food. In fact anything cold is not even considered food- its either an appetiser or a snack. Note the reference to ‘hot’ in this post is all about the temperature of the food and not the level of spices. And the fact that a Cornish pasty looks very much like the Indian 'gujhia' - a snack eaten cold (oops!) at the spring festival Holi is a matter for another post.
Here's a photo of the Cornish pasty:
Source: http://cornishpasties.com/cornish-pasties/
And this is a plate of Gujhias:
Source: http://www.ecurry.com/blog/starters-snacks/gujia-pastry-filled-with-coconut-dry-fruits-nuts/
Back to hot pasties, I glean from reliable sources such as the Daily Mail, that hot pasties are a favourite with the masses, the working classes and even Eton-educated politicians. Furthermore seeing many middle-class Brits enjoying hot soup and paninis at lunch, to say nothing about hot wraps, it looks like this is not restricted to class, ethnicity or profession.
Hot food is popular in many cultures not just because of the type of food that is available but also because it is healthier. The ideal temperature for digestion is about 37’C, so the stomach has to work harder to digest cold food.
The HMRC website acknowledges that it is not always easy to define what’s hot and what’s not:
3.4.3 Hot Food
Many bakery products, particularly bread, pies, pasties and other savouries, are baked on the retail premises, and are sold whilst still hot. If you sell products that are incidentally hot simply because they are freshly baked and are cooling down, and you have no intention of supplying them to be eaten whilst still hot they can be zero-rated. However, if you sell hot food specifically for consumption whilst still hot, then this is a supply in the course of catering and standard-rated. The borderline between “freshly baked” and “hot take-away” food can be a difficult one, and if you sell any hot food you are advised to read Notice 709/1 Catering and take-away food which sets out the distinction in more detail. If you are still in any doubt contact our Helpline.
.........
4.3 What does ‘hot’ mean?
Hot in this context means above the surrounding air temperature.
Examples of standard-rated sales when sold hot are:
However this phrase from HMRC’s website ‘Hot in this context means above the surrounding air temperature’ has already started courting controversy. If shop owners decided to keep the shop interiors warm and toasty, the toasted snack or pasty would be the same temperature and not ‘above surrounding temperature’. A clever way to stay on the zero-VAT, although the central heating bills could make the owners hit the roof.
And that got me thinking again. Why on earth does Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Department want to tax hot food anyway? The only logic I could work out is that selling hot food is in some way a luxury, or heating a pasty adds enough value to warrant a Value Added Tax. This I find most bizarre. Along with a billion plus Indians, and I assume at least a couple of million Chinese who love their hot noodle soups, I would classify hot food as a necessity not a luxury. From the HMRC's list it looks like we may find support from the Italians and Greek. And from the outrage in UK's media it looks like the hard-working British public thinks the same.
I started following British politics soon after I moved to London and realised for the first time that I actually understood what was happening. I suppose it helps to have just 3 main parties as opposed to the mad multi-party, multi-region politics that one sees in India where even politicians struggle to keep up with who’s with them and who’s not.
After having decided that I was just right of centre, in the last year I found myself nodding in appreciation of the Coalition (or Tory) policies that promised to drag the UK out of recession and improve general ‘happiness levels’ in British society. However The Political Compass test informs me that I am actually a left-leaning libertarian. It comes as surprise to me that my political leanings are closer to Gandhi and Nelson Mandela rather than to Margaret Thatcher. Either this test is suspect or else, god forbid, I’m turning into a lefty!!
And this is my test result!
This might then explain my immense dismay at the ‘Pasty’ tax. So some hot pies and pasties sold at outlets like Greggs (who incidentally have got more free publicity from this in a week than in 7 years) is now subject to a VAT while cold food is not. My first thought on this was – Aha! This is most certainly a case of discrimination against the South Asian community as we LOVE our hot food. In fact anything cold is not even considered food- its either an appetiser or a snack. Note the reference to ‘hot’ in this post is all about the temperature of the food and not the level of spices. And the fact that a Cornish pasty looks very much like the Indian 'gujhia' - a snack eaten cold (oops!) at the spring festival Holi is a matter for another post.
Here's a photo of the Cornish pasty:
And this is a plate of Gujhias:
Source: http://www.ecurry.com/blog/starters-snacks/gujia-pastry-filled-with-coconut-dry-fruits-nuts/
Back to hot pasties, I glean from reliable sources such as the Daily Mail, that hot pasties are a favourite with the masses, the working classes and even Eton-educated politicians. Furthermore seeing many middle-class Brits enjoying hot soup and paninis at lunch, to say nothing about hot wraps, it looks like this is not restricted to class, ethnicity or profession.
Hot food is popular in many cultures not just because of the type of food that is available but also because it is healthier. The ideal temperature for digestion is about 37’C, so the stomach has to work harder to digest cold food.
The HMRC website acknowledges that it is not always easy to define what’s hot and what’s not:
3.4.3 Hot Food
Many bakery products, particularly bread, pies, pasties and other savouries, are baked on the retail premises, and are sold whilst still hot. If you sell products that are incidentally hot simply because they are freshly baked and are cooling down, and you have no intention of supplying them to be eaten whilst still hot they can be zero-rated. However, if you sell hot food specifically for consumption whilst still hot, then this is a supply in the course of catering and standard-rated. The borderline between “freshly baked” and “hot take-away” food can be a difficult one, and if you sell any hot food you are advised to read Notice 709/1 Catering and take-away food which sets out the distinction in more detail. If you are still in any doubt contact our Helpline.
.........
4.3 What does ‘hot’ mean?
Hot in this context means above the surrounding air temperature.
Examples of standard-rated sales when sold hot are:
- fish and chips, chicken and chips
- chips
- Chinese, Indian, Greek, Italian and any similar take-away meals and dishes
- baked potatoes with a hot or cold filling
- hot dogs and hamburgers
- pies, rolls, sausage rolls, pasties and similar items (if sold ‘freshly cooked’ see paragraph 4.4)
- toasted sandwiches
- cups of tea, coffee, chocolate and other hot drinks
- cups of soup
- roasted chestnuts
However this phrase from HMRC’s website ‘Hot in this context means above the surrounding air temperature’ has already started courting controversy. If shop owners decided to keep the shop interiors warm and toasty, the toasted snack or pasty would be the same temperature and not ‘above surrounding temperature’. A clever way to stay on the zero-VAT, although the central heating bills could make the owners hit the roof.
And that got me thinking again. Why on earth does Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Department want to tax hot food anyway? The only logic I could work out is that selling hot food is in some way a luxury, or heating a pasty adds enough value to warrant a Value Added Tax. This I find most bizarre. Along with a billion plus Indians, and I assume at least a couple of million Chinese who love their hot noodle soups, I would classify hot food as a necessity not a luxury. From the HMRC's list it looks like we may find support from the Italians and Greek. And from the outrage in UK's media it looks like the hard-working British public thinks the same.
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