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Should the big supermarkets pay the new tax


Alex MacLeod

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John Swinney and the SNP government announced an extra tax on the big supermarkets who sell alcohol and drink. Leaving aside where the money raised is intended to benefit my question is 'should the chains pay up?

Newspaper reports suggest that we are intending to raise some ?40 million or so from this. To most it sounds like a lot of cash but if broken down among the big six chains its really chicken feed against their vast profits. If memory serves correct Tesco posted net profits recently of som 1.4 billion. Assuming the others are close to this then is it a fuss about nothing and will it really impact on the consumer?

The way I see it these supermarket chains are ruthless in the extreme in their means and methods of increasing profit year on year and, as they are generally owned by foriegn based parent companies and or investment corporations from outside the UK, the profits dont stay in the country. Is it wrong to charge them a small amount to benefit the people they make the profits from?

If we look at the mainstream in the UK - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Morrison, Safeway and Waitrose and add to that the likes of Lidl, Aldi, Coop, M&S, all of whom sell tobacco and alcohol and split the 40 million among them then they are being asked to pay around 4 million each on average works out at approx 0.28 % of their net profit. That leaves them a little over 1.38 million profit. Does that really sound like a disaster for them or is it really a doom and gloom tax?

Personally I think the only reason the other parties are voicing against this, and their press supporters are spreading doom, is that they are miffed they never thought of it.

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Alex

Food prices have gone up over the last year here in Canada by something like 25 % to, in some cases, 50%.

The local major Superstore has found that they have reached the limit of what people ARE WILLING TO PAY AND NOW HAVE RESORTED TO THE LATEST DODGE.

lAST YEAR YOU WOULD BUY A I KILOGRAM OF FROZEN PEAS FOR SAY "X" DOLLARS. THIS YEAR (AT LEAST IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS OR SO) THE PRICE HAS REMAINED THE SAME BUT THE WEIGHT HAS SURREPTITIOUSLY CHANGED TO 0.75 KILOGRAM.

That's a 25% increase overnight and probably most shoppers are unaware of this. But wait (as they say in all the T V ads)there's more. In addition, there are several other products which have had their weights adjusted in a similar way but NO reduction of price follows. Specifically cheese, which is so expensive here now that only the wealthy can buy it.

My wife has taken to visiting the 50% off tray on a regular basis . But wait. The sticker on the tray on wheels shows that you have arrived at the 50% off stand but when you check the price on the food ticket it says it's only 25% off!!! So I com plained to the Superstore Manager and he got flustered. " Oh, he said, it still will be charged at the till as 50% off." Really? REALLY, I said ,then why is there not a sticker on the product in bright, brilliant pink to the effect that this is a 50% off item. More comfusion, more red faces and placating promises . oH Dear. "Oh what a tangled web we weave others to deceive" and the more wealthy these people are the more they want. Why? Because greed dictates that enough is never enough.The wealthy on this planet operate on an entirely different plane of thought than you and I do. They don't understand your life at all. Nor do theycare !!

So what my wife now does is wait until the product doesn't sell at 25% off (my, isn't that sign of the financial times)and then they have to reduce it to 50% off otherwise it goes bad and they don't even get their cost back. Hoch.Hoch. The food is still eatable and the cost is now affordable.

You would be surprised at what bargoons one can get if one has patience.

Bottom line is that this Superstore--so big that you literally can't see the far end of it.. is just like yours . Making so much money that one million dollars to them is no more than the cost of a foreign holiday. CHARGE THE BAR STEWARDS I say, whilst jolly old Cameron is over here enjoying the fleshpots with Stevie Harper (our glorious Prime Minister).

aND A VERY GOOD WEEK-END'S SHOPPING TO YOU AND YOURS . :blush:

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Alex

Food prices have gone up over the last year here in Canada by something like 25 % to, in some cases, 50%.

The local major Superstore has found that they have reached the limit of what people ARE WILLING TO PAY AND NOW HAVE RESORTED TO THE LATEST DODGE.

lAST YEAR YOU WOULD BUY A I KILOGRAM OF FROZEN PEAS FOR SAY "X" DOLLARS. THIS YEAR (AT LEAST IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS OR SO) THE PRICE HAS REMAINED THE SAME BUT THE WEIGHT HAS SURREPTITIOUSLY CHANGED TO 0.75 KILOGRAM.

That's a 25% increase overnight and probably most shoppers are unaware of this. But wait (as they say in all the T V ads)there's more. In addition, there are several other products which have had their weights adjusted in a similar way but NO reduction of price follows. Specifically cheese, which is so expensive here now that only the wealthy can buy it.

My wife has taken to visiting the 50% off tray on a regular basis . But wait. The sticker on the tray on wheels shows that you have arrived at the 50% off stand but when you check the price on the food ticket it says it's only 25% off!!! So I com plained to the Superstore Manager and he got flustered. " Oh, he said, it still will be charged at the till as 50% off." Really? REALLY, I said ,then why is there not a sticker on the product in bright, brilliant pink to the effect that this is a 50% off item. More comfusion, more red faces and placating promises . oH Dear. "Oh what a tangled web we weave others to deceive" and the more wealthy these people are the more they want. Why? Because greed dictates that enough is never enough.The wealthy on this planet operate on an entirely different plane of thought than you and I do. They don't understand your life at all. Nor do theycare !!

So what my wife now does is wait until the product doesn't sell at 25% off (my, isn't that sign of the financial times)and then they have to reduce it to 50% off otherwise it goes bad and they don't even get their cost back. Hoch.Hoch. The food is still eatable and the cost is now affordable.

You would be surprised at what bargoons one can get if one has patience.

Bottom line is that this Superstore--so big that you literally can't see the far end of it.. is just like yours . Making so much money that one million dollars to them is no more than the cost of a foreign holiday. CHARGE THE BAR STEWARDS I say, whilst jolly old Cameron is over here enjoying the fleshpots with Stevie Harper (our glorious Prime Minister).

aND A VERY GOOD WEEK-END'S SHOPPING TO YOU AND YOURS . :blush:

If you waited another day you could find it in the skip out the back. :twothumbsup:

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Alex, your kidding yourself if you think the supermarkets will absorb the cost and take a hit on profits...just as parliament are kidding themselves if they think the supermarkets will pass the cost on by increasing the price of drink, when in reality it'll be a penny here and a penny there on the cost of everyday shopping items and everyone will end up having to pay it in some way shape or form...whether they purchase alcohol or not.

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i wasnt aware about the alcohol side of this

its one of those things that i think is good in theory but will never manage to come through without being corrupted in some way

on paper the idea of a tax for the super-rich supermarkets sounds great but lets face it companies like that dont get to that position without knowing how to circumvent certain areas of accounting and i would have to agree that any tax that does get levied will land up creeping up the price of other goods not alcohol for the simple reason (i believe) there will be no way to prove its not just a "routine" price rise,some of morrisons everyday value products for example have gone up almost 100% (so the wife says anyway)in the last year anyway

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If we look at the mainstream in the UK - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Morrison, Safeway and Waitrose and add to that the likes of Lidl, Aldi, Coop, M&S, all of whom sell tobacco and alcohol and split the 40 million among them then they are being asked to pay around 4 million each

I think the proposal is that the tax is applied to supermarkets with rateable value greater than ?300,000, which I think would only really impact the first 4 names you mention. However, as with most taxes, you can see how the scope would increase over time and it is likely to end up being applied to every registered seller of alcohol and cigarettes which would be very damaging to wee shops.

CaleyD is spot on that the cost will just get passed on to us anyway.

The SNP are waging war on these products and they are also introducing minimum pricing on alcohol which again will push up the prices we pay, and lead to a big increase in profits for the likes of Tesco etc. There are some social benefits from making alcohol more expensive, but it will just boost the illicit trade and duty evasion that is already rife.

If petrol wasn't so expensive we'd see booze cruises down to Carlisle. Football fans will certainly be hoping for more away matches v Berwick.

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I should add that there are new laws which come into effect a week today.

It becomes illegal to offer quantity discounts on alcohol. So if a shop sells a particular bottle for ?1, a 6 pack has to be ?6, and a box of 24 is ?24. This obviously pushes prices up for us, because at the moment that box of 24 is probably less than ?16. Shops will work around that particular rule by delisting single units, which ironically means that consumers have no choice but to buy larger quantites!

The new law also means the end of alcohol BOGOF offers, 3 for 2, 3 bottles of wine for ?10, buy 6 bottles get 20% off etc etc etc

This only applies in Scotland. Salmond is obviously keen for us to follow his healthy lifestyle.

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I should add that there are new laws which come into effect a week today.

It becomes illegal to offer quantity discounts on alcohol. So if a shop sells a particular bottle for ?1, a 6 pack has to be ?6, and a box of 24 is ?24. This obviously pushes prices up for us, because at the moment that box of 24 is probably less than ?16. Shops will work around that particular rule by delisting single units, which ironically means that consumers have no choice but to buy larger quantites!

The new law also means the end of alcohol BOGOF offers, 3 for 2, 3 bottles of wine for ?10, buy 6 bottles get 20% off etc etc etc

This only applies in Scotland. Salmond is obviously keen for us to follow his healthy lifestyle.

:ohmy: That's me off to the supermarket wi the van to stock up the beer fridge :frown:

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I should add that there are new laws which come into effect a week today.

It becomes illegal to offer quantity discounts on alcohol. So if a shop sells a particular bottle for ?1, a 6 pack has to be ?6, and a box of 24 is ?24. This obviously pushes prices up for us, because at the moment that box of 24 is probably less than ?16. Shops will work around that particular rule by delisting single units, which ironically means that consumers have no choice but to buy larger quantites!

The new law also means the end of alcohol BOGOF offers, 3 for 2, 3 bottles of wine for ?10, buy 6 bottles get 20% off etc etc etc

This only applies in Scotland. Salmond is obviously keen for us to follow his healthy lifestyle.

Majestic do a lot of offers where you get 20% of if you buy 2 bottles of the same or even from the same country. The new law says you can't make such offers in Scotland. Majestic's way around that is simply to say that the discounted price applies to single bottles in Scotland and their price lists now have an English price and a Scottish price with the Scottish price being 20% less. Hence a law which was intended to increase the cost of alcohol has resulted in a decrease. I like Majestic!

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In British Columbia,Canada, the Liqor stores are run by, and under the control of, the Provincial Government.

That mean that they fix the price and if any store wants to sell cheaper drink then they have to buy it in from local breweries like Bowen Island Brewery (a small brewery on a very small island just off the West Coast here.) Nice spot, idyllic really, get to it by B.C. Ferries which is a nice ride and their beer is tasty too.

Caley D is right. The stores will undoubtedly pass on any increases to the great unwashed public. Anyone who thinks otherwise has a superhuman faith in the generosity of the store owners and should see a Doctor. LOL :rolleyes:

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Pull Mt Finger.

The stuff never gets that far.

It's snapped up in a frenzy of buying by--wait for it--the Great Unwashed Public comprising.... pensioners, down-and-outs, single Moms , laggards who sleep under Maple trees, ex-employees of the Royal Bank of Scotland, bairns on mini-bikes,people who are here on a holiday from the humidity of Toronto, welfare recipients,societal loafers who clearly have never worked a day in their lives and send a clear message that they have no intention of ever breaking the mould, Realtors who are looking for a deal on a gift to give their clients who have just stuffed $10,000 into their pocket,drug addicts and persons from Britain who came across here hidden in the baggage compartment of David Cameron's 747 and who have heard of the stunning food price reductions available here..and...pensioners.

Welcome to La La Land in the rain. Now that out\r ten days of sunny Summer have passed we welcome all visitors who want to spend their money here but will not be encouraged to stay since there are only so many half-price items to go around. :rotflmao:

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Also from the same time on the Scottish Licensing agenda will be pubs, hotels etc requiring to see your ID if your`e lucky enough to `look` under the age of 25 - This law has currently been in place at Shops & off-licences for 2 years now.

Not all younger pub goers will be aware of this to begin with, i can see it being a difficult law to manage initially.

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Also from the same time on the Scottish Licensing agenda will be pubs, hotels etc requiring to see your ID if your`e lucky enough to `look` under the age of 25 - This law has currently been in place at Shops & off-licences for 2 years now.

Not all younger pub goers will be aware of this to begin with, i can see it being a difficult law to manage initially.

Dont really see why. Most U-25's carry id around anyway in case the doorpersons refuse them.

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Unfortunately there will be a lot of ` borderline cases ` who up until now have not needed to show ID ,but will soon have to - even if a 26 yr old appears to look younger than 25, they could be refused.

Yes it could be a storm in a teacup, but a new law( which it is for pubs/hotels) can cause confusion to begin with, however trained up the profession is.

I`m not sure if the rest of the UK are in the same boat

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question

if you shop online and the head office and processing etc are done in England thereby making everything at this end merely a delivery, would the same rules apply?

It seems to depend on where the goods are despatched from. If it is normal online grocery shopping that gets delivered from your local supermarket, the new laws apply. If however it is a wine club that delivers from a warehouse in England, they can still do whatever offers and discounts they like.

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