Firm closing

[Yibble]

16 hours ago, A fool and his money..... said:

And then they give Lewis Hamilton a £3m vat rebate on his private jet.

They presumably* did so because the law said they had to. The required VAT treatment in such cases was confirmed by a ruling of the European Court of Justice  ('A Oy' C-31/11). HM Treasury reviewed the IoM's VAT treatment of imported aircraft and concluded that the law was being correctly implemented and administered on the IoM. The VAT treatment applied by the IoM was not a 'generous' treatment, it was what the law required.

*I don't believe that the specific facts relating to an individual VAT claim are in the public domain, but one might reasonably presume that they were consistent with the circumstances addressed by the A Oy case and by HM Treasury's subsequent review.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Yibble

[A fool and his money.....]

You can presume whatever you like regarding the law.

Less so with the English language. To suggest that Hamilton's £3.3million VAT rebate on his private was not 'generous' by whatever metric you choose is utter nonsense.

The fact that he'd set up several companies in different jurisdictions, Stealth (IOM) was the local one wasn't it 😀, specifically to avoid paying VAT on what was proved to be a jet he used extensively for private use, shows that regardless of the legalities, he didn't comply with the spirit of the law and was certainly treated extremely generously as a result, certainly in comparison to almost all other VAT payers to which such elaborate deception is completely unachievable.

Of course all was proved to be legal after an expensive review was sought - the main intention of which seemed to be saving face in light of the understandable moral outrage surrounding the case. Ass covering is one thing that politicians do well.

I think to rely purely on the law for our moral guidance though is a very dangerous precedent to set, especially when the spirit of the law can be so easily circumvented by those with deep enough pockets.

The shit show that was Lewis Hamilton's VAT rebate was not only extremely generous and morally (and probably legally)  dubious, it was a sad reflection on what the island has become and a kick in the teeth for the huge majority of people on the island and elsewhere who are honest and decent and receive no choice in how much tax they pay.

 

[Harry Lamb]

21 hours ago, Harry Lamb said:

Returning to the topic of struggling local businesses, I understand that Bar George may be experiencing some difficulties with regard to its liquor licence and pre-booked parties are now BYOB.

I have discovered that this is not true, thankfully.

[Mouthpiece]

I see the vegan restaurant that was in Peter Luis has now re-opened as a burger bar. That seems to have been a one hit wonder. It must have run out of vegan idiots fairly quickly. 

[HeteroErectus]

36 minutes ago, Mouthpiece said:

I see the vegan restaurant that was in Peter Luis has now re-opened as a burger bar. That seems to have been a one hit wonder. It must have run out of vegan idiots fairly quickly. 

Yeah, many people are realising veganism, for whatever motive, is bollocks. 

[The Bastard]

33 minutes ago, Mouthpiece said:

I see the vegan restaurant that was in Peter Luis has now re-opened as a burger bar. That seems to have been a one hit wonder. It must have run out of vegan idiots fairly quickly. 

Not sure about the "idiots" bit, but there has been a sea change in attitudes towards veganism over the past year. Heather Mills' vegan food business is the latest casualty, going under in recent days.

Lots of brands have dropped some or all of their vegan lines. Social media may be to blame, veganism may have been a virtue-signaling trend for a while that's been dropped by the tiktok generation.

I've no idea of the reasons behind the closure, but it's sad to see someone's dream disappear. On a small island, going exclusively vegan is either a unique selling point or a niche pitch, and as people are increasingly stretched for cash, niche pitches are going under in droves. In that position, the Eatery across the road had good vegan options, alongside regular food, and the foot traffic from town would be drying up, so it'd be a challenge.

[Kopek]

1 hour ago, HeteroErectus said:

Yeah, many people are realising veganism, for whatever motive, is bollocks. 

No No No, you can't eat bollocks if you are Vegan, even if this utilises the whole of the Animal killed.

It is for meat eaters to eat the bollocks, brains and spinal cord to fully justify the killing of the Animal!!!

[Primator]

14 minutes ago, Kopek said:

It is for meat eaters to eat the bollocks, brains and spinal cord to fully justify the killing of the Animal!!!

I’ve never eaten bollocks,, I did give it a go once but I just wasn’t supple enough. 

[Kopek]

That's because you're a meat eater and you have a big fat belly!!!

Lose weight, try harder!!!

[Roger Mexico]

54 minutes ago, The Bastard said:

Not sure about the "idiots" bit, but there has been a sea change in attitudes towards veganism over the past year. Heather Mills' vegan food business is the latest casualty, going under in recent days.

Lots of brands have dropped some or all of their vegan lines. Social media may be to blame, veganism may have been a virtue-signaling trend for a while that's been dropped by the tiktok generation.

I think this change in attitude towards veganism etc is only in your head.  Everything I can find suggests that veganism and vegetarianism are increasing if slowly and, more significantly, a lot of people are eating less meat, even if they haven't stopped altogether.

Which doesn't mean that every business or product that is labelled vegan will succeed however.   Many vegans and vegetarians dislike or aren't interested in 'fake meat' products and many find them disappointing - as do meat-eaters looking for variety or change.  And restaurants of all sorts come and go.

[Roger Mexico]

53 minutes ago, Kopek said:

It is for meat eaters to eat the bollocks, brains and spinal cord to fully justify the killing of the Animal!!!

Mmmm...lambs' fries.

[The Bastard]

6 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

I think this change in attitude towards veganism etc is only in your head.

Unfortunately it isn't. I know you enjoy a drawn-out bit of quibbling focusing on obscure details, so here's some references to trigger you.

Note that Google trends data, which is a solid metric rather than an opinion, shows a decline of interest in veganism, which is inarguable.

Peak veganism was in 2019, but a variety of factors, including cost, supplier interest and shifting social media focus have shifted interest away from it.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/may/20/has-the-vegan-bubble-burst-sales-stagnate-in-uk-as-brands-withdraw-plant-based-products

https://theweek.com/arts-life/food-drink/961264/the-decline-of-veganism

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fake-meat-vegan-food-sales-b2390340.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12237675/Brits-abandoning-veganism-brands-dwindling-country.html

https://www.mediadecision.com/food/google-shows-a-surprising-decline-in-vegan-trends-worldwide/article_47d9ef04-45bf-11ee-a6c7-170e4b0b1aed.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65481714

 

 

 

[John Wright]

6 hours ago, Kopek said:

It is for meat eaters to eat the bollocks, brains and spinal cord to fully justify the killing of the Animal!!!

So, that’s anyone who eats burgers and sausages. Anything that contains “recovered meat”.

Can I recommend Fergus Hendersons restaurant, St John, and his cook book “Nose to Tail Eating” 

[Mercenary]

9 hours ago, Mouthpiece said:

I see the vegan restaurant that was in Peter Luis has now re-opened as a burger bar. That seems to have been a one hit wonder. It must have run out of vegan idiots fairly quickly. 

@jackwhite did say that the 6 month running of the vegan restaurant was a complete success though

[The Phantom]

10 hours ago, HeteroErectus said:

Yeah, many people are realising veganism, for whatever motive, is bollocks. 

They're just all so tired, lethargic and malnourished, that they can't muster sufficient energy to drag themselves there. 

Funnily enough, I stumbled across this at the weekend. 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by The Phantom