One of the things that is interesting to note about this is that VAT shouldn't even exist in the first place. It doesn't serve any reasonable function, yet by the time I was born it was already taken for granted. I can remember my dad saying that it was a total disgrace, but if you go to speak to the average MP now and state that we should be working towards eradicating VAT completely, they'll just laugh at you. They won't have any concept of this whatsoever.
If you look at how it came about:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_the_Un...gdom#Value_added_tax
It was introduced in 1973, in consequence of Britain's entry to the European Economic Community, at a standard rate of 10%. In July 1974, the standard rate became 8%, and from October that year petrol was taxed at a new higher rate of 25%. In the budget of April 1975 the higher rate was extended to a wide range of "luxury" goods. In the budget of April 1976 the 25% higher rate was reduced to 12.5%. In 1979, the higher rate was scrapped and VAT set at a single rate of 15%. In 1991 this became 17.5%, though when domestic fuel and power was added to the scheme in 1994, it was charged at a new, lower rate of 8%.[32] In September 1997 this lower rate was reduced to 5%, and was extended to cover various energy-saving materials (from 1 July 1998), Sanitary Protection (from 1 January 2001), children's car seats (from 1 April 2001), conversion and renovation of certain residential properties (from 12 May 2001), contraceptives (from 1 July 2006) and smoking cessation products (from 1 July 2007).
On 1 December 2008, VAT was reduced to 15%, as a reaction to the late-2000s recession, by Chancellor Alistair Darling.
On 1 January 2010 VAT returned to 17.5%.
On 4 January 2011 VAT was raised to 20% by Chancellor George Osborne, where it remains.
It was introduced as a direct consequence of Britain entering the EEC, and has doubled since it began. So that's yet another benefit of being part of the European superstate. If you went back and looked at the justification for the introduction of VAT, it will look absolutely laughable now, given that they can (and will) tax every conceivable activity, and still the government can't even come close to breaking even. Put VAT up to 80%; it won't make any fucking difference. But once it's approved it just becomes absorbed by this ridiculous economy. We're now reliant on taxing every sale of every item of every product in the country, even though it doesn't make a blind bit of difference to anyone's prosperity apart from a small cabal of private bankers.
But if you stop the average MP and point this out to them, they won't have any clue. The ones at the top know how fucked we are, but the rank and file have no idea. The rank and file will follow the policy line on anything, and half the time they don't even understand the consequences of what they're going along with. They're probably already being briefed on how to respond to this when they're asked questions about it. Never mind out of the box thinking, they're barely able to think within the box. All they see is their expense accounts going up in smoke if they disobey the party elite, little realising that what they're rubber stamping is going to affect them.
