The Lira or the Naira?

With the advent of our Lord Jesus comes the VAT

( that’s – value added tax ) This supposes it’s a tax paid to assuage the value being received in the purchase. The reality is that our lovely government are the sole beneficiaries of the tax. A way of raising revenue ~ to help us pay for essential frontline public services. That is the theory!

The essential public services as we know are being hacked to death in our health, transport, sport policing,.. you name it. Have you seen the state of our public roads. The debacle of the recent snow event,..non gritting of GB. Standstill Britain! How can they blame this on the previous government. It begs the question where are our taxes being spent? Even our lowly paid nurses are being asked to take a pay freeze in earning to help the economy.

Well,…if the theory of VAT is for value added what can be done if we are not receiving the value? Here are a few tips:

1. 1.Do not buy non-essential goods ( i.e white goods such as: fridges,washing machine and luxury goods like wide screen TV or its new nemesis ~ the 3D flatscreen, furniture etc,..)

2. 2.Only buy FMCG ( fast moving consumer goods), milk, eggs, bread etc,..suppliment with long lasting canned food items. Buy fruit and vegs on a need only basis.Cook and consume within the items lifeline only. Cut out chocolates, biscuits and treats. Stop taking things off the shop shelves to load them on your home shelves, only not to use them and end up throwing them away. We have all done it! Why??? Let’s adopt the bulldog spirit that saw us thru the war years. Let’s find our stiff upper british lip! ( Yah! )

3. 3. Practise what I call the 3 day event on vehicle usage. Let me explain: With fuel so expensive, why not adopt a policy of not using the vehicle 3 times a week. Find an alternative. Your choice.

I could go on and on giving you examples, am sure you have a few of your own.

The elephant in the room is this: The government wants us to help the economy by spending more. How? Spending money we do not have. They claim the cutting of frontline service to the bone will help the economy – How?,.. when more people will lose their jobs, fall on the poverty line and hasten the fracture of families as pressure upon them mount and difficult choices have to be made.

I think you get my drift.

The value of any tax is in the benefit received by the end user and or what he or she is prepared to accept as fair. So it matters not if the VAT is 15%, 17.5%, 20%, or 25%. Or whether the currency is the Lira or the Naira . The value is in the benefit received upon purchase. THE PURCHASE is yours to control ( your spending power ) Trust me, the government will eventually listen. If we adopt the policy of less is more, a lesson we desperately need in the WEST. The government will eventually listen. Why? Intelligent readers can do the maths.

My unitary advise to the government is to reverse the VAT. Make it 10% - call it what you will,…xmas bonus, royal marriage next year bonus,…whatever.

Remember: running water cannot be stopped. It’s a flow continuum!