I'm not going to argue for or against VAT because frankly I don't give much of a crap, there's a saying about death and taxes that is so cliche I will not bother to repeat it.
What does massively irk me when it comes to VAT is the completely arbitrary rates and exceptions that are deeply woven into it's very possibly VAT Exempt fabric. VAT was originally intended to apply to luxury goods, which is why food on the whole is VAT exempt, and why a Jaffa Cake is not a biscuit.
British society has also decided that literacy is very important and therefore books are not a luxury. Also, unlike our friends over the pond in Yankland, it seems British people generally think access to healthcare is a right that doesn't belong only to the wealthiest members of society, with the exception of dentistry, which for some reason that I'm sure many people have found both bizarre and incredibly frustrating, is pretty much private!!!
So surely if reading is deemed so fundamental that books are VAT exempt, and medical services are likewise viewed as a right, those of us with less than perfectly shaped eyeballs, unable to read a book, or more crucially a road sign, can toddle down to our opticians and purchase some new ocular correctifiers without the extra 20% burden of VAT?
This is where my definition of Luxury differs massively from HMRC, because the eye test that determines I need to stick massive lenses on my eyeballs so I can actually see The Gherkin while standing so close to it a Nats cock wouldn't fix between us is VAT exempt, but the lenses that enable me to view every hair on a Nats cock at 50 paces incur the full 20% VAT, not even the reduced rate of 5%.
So, being able to see = Luxury
Burial/Cremation of the dead = VAT Exempt
That's good, so when I run down and kill all those pedestrians that I couldn't see at least their loved ones can burn them without spending a single penny on VAT.
But before you rush off to charter an Aircraft after realising it has a VAT rate of 0%, remember that you could die in a firey plane crash after the pilot fails to see that 747.
And when you hire an expert to cast their trained eye over that VAT Exempt Ming Vase you are about to purchase, make sure said expert isn't squinting.
