£3.5m Teacake tax bill

[0iD]

Chocolate teacakes were wrongly classed as a biscuit for two decades SHOCKER!

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Teacake set to cost taxman £3.5m

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.

[pauldarkside]

M&S eats your taxes

[Salazaar]

Hands up anyone who bought M&S teacakes in the last twenty years.

Keeps your hands up if you kept a reciept...

[MadduckUK]

this just takes the biscuit..... sorry

[Salazaar]

Let them eat cake!

[DDY]

£3.5m, holy hell. How many teacakes did M&S sell?

Somewhat relevant: Biscuits - Weebl's Stuff

[Gerrard]

I remember Jaffa Cakes ran into a similiar situation and had to prove they were cakes and not biscuits for tax reasons. IIRC from QI, biscuits go soft when they go off; cakes go hard. A Jaffa Cake goes hard when stale, and is therefore a cake.

[sammyc]

more than you ever wanted to know biccies

...anyway why did this apply only to M&S, what about other teacakes?

[Funkstar]

A nice follow up to this would be to see if M&S reduce the retail price of their tea cakes to reflect the lack of VAT payable on them.

I have my suspicions that they won't.

[pauldarkside]

A nice follow up to this would be to see if M&S reduce the retail price of their tea cakes to reflect the lack of VAT payable on them.

I have my suspicions that they won't.

I doubt it too, they'd probably put the price up on something else instead, like baps.

[usxhe190]

Think about the amount of time and money spent by the Government in drawing the legislation, listening the arguments, and reviewing the case that chocolate teacakes were cakes and not biscuits.

No wonder there is not enough money for anything REAL services and the government keeps needing more money. We are going down the toilet with such stupidity.

[sammyc]

Jesus™ loves Tunnock's Teacakes™

i checked...

Me:
does Jesus love Tunnock's teacakes?
God:
I think it does Jesus love Tunnock s teacakes.

[dave87]

I'd like to see the £3.5 million donated to a worthwhile cause - as they have no way of realistically giving it back to those who bought the items.

[pauldarkside]

I'd like to see the £3.5 million donated to a worthwhile cause - as they have no way of realistically giving it back to those who bought the items.

I gave the governemt my bank details but they lost them

[TAKTAK]

that has to be the most pointless news of the century

id hate to be the guy who originally classified it :S

[Funkstar]

Think about the amount of time and money spent by the Government in drawing the legislation, listening the arguments, and reviewing the case that chocolate teacakes were cakes and not biscuits.

No wonder there is not enough money for anything REAL services and the government keeps needing more money. We are going down the toilet with such stupidity.

The government (as in MPs and the house of commons) don't get involved. There is no legislation or listening to arguments. It is all down Customs & Excise (or whatever they are called these days). They make the descision and usually, thats the end of it.