20% tax increase on alcohol/tobacco

[justphil]

Nan, luvver I have a special relationship with my liver - it stars in forum posts all summer and then gets abused by its SAD owner all winter. But I still love it....

Now have you heard of the new snorkelling tax? Cameras are being installed all over Corfu to track people who swim, don't smoke, don't drink and only eat healthy food. They will have to pay for each rocket leaf they eat and a euro for every kilometre that they jog? And if they want to eat vegetables they will have to stand outside the front of the building?

But I have heard of a place that has defied all the rules and the people who go there don't wear many or any clothes, they get fat on fabulous, gorgeous food and ignore any smoking ban. Wonder why I keep going back....

Phil

[GaryS]

Oh dear, 20% is very steep indeed. The recent upward Pound gains against the Euro is also stalling (1.137) after peaking at 1.155 just a week ago. Guess this means for every 5 large Mythos we were going to drink in July it will have to be 4 now.............Na, who are we kidding, guess we will just be spending a bit less on our economy before and after our holidays Sorry Gordon Brown (if you are still in charge then) Arillas comes first

[kevin.g]

what will be will be ..
some will have to pull there belt in others will have to pay out more ..no-one said perfection would be cheap..................yammas

[Erja]

. ..no-one said perfection would be cheap...

I concur

[TerryW]

no-one said perfection would be cheap.

I concur as well.

A great way of putting it Kevin

[Sara]

For anyone who missed the Greek Prime Minister on the Andrew Marr show, here is a link to the BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8526880.stm

Sara

[Nan]

Very good Phil all points well made!!

I should think the best place for people who want to eat vegetables is outside the building!!

I will try to keep the snorkelling to a minimum and only "jog" my memory to order another Mythos.

Viva Phil's liver!!

Cheers Nan xx

[Alan and Jan]

What is the present tax rate on alcohol, does anyone know?. For arguements sake if the tax on a pint of Mythos is 40 cents of the purchase price then the increase of 20% in the tax rate will be 8 cents. Or am I getting hold of the wrong end of bottle.
Clarification would be great

[justphil]

Thanks for the link Sara. I fully support the last bit:

ANDREW MARR:

Support Greece by buying some Retsina, enjoying some seafood ...

GEORGE PAPANDREOU:

(over) That's right and I'm sure ...

ANDREW MARR:

... and the beaches.

GEORGE PAPANDREOU:

... they will be very hospitable, Greece.

Well, we all know how to do our bit then.......

Phil

[nuffstrong]

If Greek tax on a pack of cigarettes has risen from 57.5% to 70% that means originally roughly a pretax price of 1.94euros for a pack of Super Kings Menthol including delivery to Greece.
Considering they are £6.00 a pack in the UK cigs here really are taxed unfairly.
I don't smoke but the wife does and I have bought 6 months supply from Corfu for the last 6 years so an increase in tax of 22.5% to roughly 3.30euros (abt £3.63) a pack is quite acceptable.
Steve

[justphil]

We always bring the new (illegal) duty-paid limit of 3200 each. That's more like 3 months for us. Even at the new price we're quids in. We smoke a cheaper brand and reckon about 3 euros. Still half what we pay here.

Phil

[nuffstrong]

As I understand it  if I bring back in excess of 3200 and get stopped by customs they will want know that they are for my own use.
Quote "If you are bringing in alcohol or tobacco goods and we have reason to suspect they may be for a commercial purpose, a Customs officer may ask you questions and make checks, for example about:

■the type and quantity of goods you have bought
■why you bought them
■how you paid for them
■whether all your goods are openly displayed or concealed
■how often you travel
■how much you normally smoke or drink or
■any other relevant circumstances.
You are particularly likely to be asked questions if you have more than:

3200 cigarettes, 200 cigars, 400 cigarillos, 3kg tobacco, 110 litres of beer, 90 litres of wine, 10 litres of spirits, 20 litres of fortified wine (such as port or sherry).

The officer will take into account all the factors of the situation and your explanation."unquote

So 3200 is not the most I can bring back but only the point where I may be asked to answer these questions.

In particular they should all be the same brand and for your own use,

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_InfoGuides&propertyType=document&id=HMCE_PROD_010221

Steve

[Ang]

Your spot on nuffstrong, we were stopped a few years back and had over 10,000 it wasn't a random stop as they singled me out i think they knew from an x ray how many i had lol
However as the 7000 were one brand and 3000 another and any open sleeves were discounted we could demonstrate that they were for our own use, which they were.
You get asked all of those questions,they try and intimitade you a little but if you play by the rules of the game and know your rights your fine,but they will watch you the next time especially if your seen as a frequent flyer
Ang

[nuffstrong]

Hi Ang, what gets me is the myth promoted by our beloved Customs & Excise that this is the law and the legal limit. I spoke to the owner of a  tobaco shop in Sidari about this and he was so convinced it was the legal "limit" that he had a huge sign up saying so. I suggested that he and his lawyer take a good look at the C & E website and maybe quote from it exactly as in my post above.
I don't smoke personally but after allowing decades of advertising promoting smoking which heaped billions into the taxman's pocket I object to the government using the "price deterrent"  to reduce smoking. All they are doing is compensating for the drop in revenue.    If it's so bad then ban cigs completely I'm sure we'd all manage somehow (wife's gonna kill me for saying that) but of course that means less money for the tax man.
Ok rant over, back in yer box Steve.

[Dave n Anne]

Hi all

I don't smoke either but we do usually bring back some ciggys for the family and have never had a problem with customs until that fateful day . Have you ever tried carrying 110 litres of Mythos in a suitcase , I think the crimson face of exertion was my let down .

Yammas

Dave