The Blood is The Life 18-03-2012

[miss_s_b]

• Witness the exciting tale of My First Sewing Class and the Consequences Thereof
  ... as posted to the sewing community on Dreamwidth
  (tags: self )
  
  
• This rang some bells with me
  (tags: lgbt )
  
• Signal Boost for Antipodean Folks: House of Reps marriage equality survey
  (tags: lgbt )
  
• In which I agree with George Osborne, but not for the reason he'd like
  Of course, even Andrew's version of the thing does nothing to solve the EVERYTHING'S IN LONDON!!! problem...
  (tags: politics )
  
  
• High Court confirms 'cheap DVD' tax loophole will close
  Byebye Play.com. :(
  (tags: bloodytories )
  
  
• Cineworld cuts online booking fees
  Huzzah!
  (tags: film )
  
  
• I should quit the Liberal Democrats to save the NHS? You are kidding, aren't you?
  Interesting post, and interesting comment thread too. Still using a horrible font, though :P
  (tags: libdemmery )
  
  

Comments

[drunkwriter]

I never thought I'd see you defending corporate tax evasion.

If it helps, consider that closing this loophole might just stave off the demise of HMV and any other independents that are still out there, by reducing the online resellers' unfair competitive advantage.

DVDs going up by a couple of quid is something I can live with if it levels the playing field a bit.

[andrewhickey.info]

Surely better, though, to get rid of the high, regressive, VAT on stuff like DVDs and pay for it with a progressive property tax of some sort? VAT is a tax that hits the poorest hardest, *and* that puts the brakes on the economy (stops people buying stuff, which means fewer people have jobs selling those things).

This move will probably not raise any more revenue, and will only lead to skint people having fewer nice things.

(That said, unfortunately it's still probably the right thing to do *if* removing the 20% VAT on DVDs is impossible).

[gwenhwyfaer]

What I'd love to see is VAT folded into the personal allowance - so if you don't pay income tax, you can reclaim the VAT you have to pay.

[andrewhickey.info]

Problem with that is it then penalises those who are no good at filling in forms, who don't understand what their rights are, or those who don't have the time to do the reclaiming - and I suspect there's a *lot* of overlap between those three groups and the group of people who'd be entitled to such a claim. Generally speaking I'm very wary of anything that involves taking people's money away from them and then asking them to claim it back (q.v. tax credits) and would far rather have a system that doesn't take it from them in the first place.

Possibly a simple solution would be to have a lower bound on VAT - an individual purchase under twenty quid, say, not incurring it.

[gwenhwyfaer]

That still poses problems. Poor people still have to make big purchases - and usually at the worst possible time, when every penny matters most.

Perhaps an exemption certificate, like the ones for bank accounts or NHS charges?

[drunkwriter]

Most taxes hit the poorest hardest. The poorest are less able to hire accountants, after all.

[gwenhwyfaer]

Um, HMV is one of the reasons there aren't very many indie stores left; if they're under threat, it should be seen more as "what goes around comes around". And DVDs going up by a couple of quid will mean a lot of people not buying as many, or even any, DVDs. Including me. After all, they're in competition for my money with other stuff, and being inedible they tend to lose by default at the moment...

[drunkwriter]

Hmm, quite possibly.

It's still a tax evasion scam exploited to gain an unfair competitive advantage.

I have a lot of friends still working in retail. At the end of this year I suspect I won't, and it will be for all the wrong reasons.

Regarding the LGBT Comic

[ginasketch]

Oh god, me too. Except perhaps with the panel in the middle- I've always found myself attracted to men more than women- but I AM attracted to women. The fact that it's not 50/50 makes me feel like some sort of inadequate bisexual.

I'm rather tired of labels anyway. You know how I feel about boxes.

Re: Regarding the LGBT Comic

[etoile]

If I was any good at writing coherently, I could've wrote this comment.

Re: Regarding the LGBT Comic

[magister]

I never really had a lightbulb moment - as long as I can remember it's always been that there are people and some of them are attractive. I don't really like the word bisexual, as it seems to imply that I have multiple sexualities, that my feelings for the people I'm attracted to vary according to their gender. I don't think of it like that. It's simply that there are people who I'm attracted to. I don't think "This group of people are different because they're male", so much as "This person is different because she's Jennie and this person is different because he's Mike." Each individual's different and I'm far more likely to class people together because I knew them from work or because they're Doctor Who fans or whatever than any physical characteristic they may have in common.

Re: Regarding the LGBT Comic

[ginasketch]

I'm beginning to think the word bisexual doesn't really fit me either. Nor does a fixed word for gender- which is a whole other issue!

I just hate labels. Yet people constantly want me to have one.

Re: Regarding the LGBT Comic

[magister]

I think it was Michael Stipe who came up witht the phrase "equal opportunity lech". Problem with that is it rather reinforces the whole "bisexuals are greedy" thing.

Re: Regarding the LGBT Comic

[ginasketch]

I like the word "me."

Re: Regarding the LGBT Comic

[magister]

Fair enough. Personally I'm just happy with the idea that I'm attracted to nice people. That pretty much sums it up.

Re: Regarding the LGBT Comic

[el_staplador]

Joining the chorus of 'me too'...

Re: Regarding the LGBT Comic

[ginasketch]

Having said that....it's a funny old world. Because look wot I gone and done:

http://ginasketch.livejournal.com/743269.html

[(Anonymous)]

Font? You're lucky that it isn't in quill pen!

Hon. Lady Mark