"GSV Three Minds in a Can" wrote in message
...
It would be but they have returned VAT to 17.5% at a time when they
are still trying to stimulate the economy.

And THAT increase hasn't even kicked thru into the inflation numbers
yet .. the 2.9% was just the 'real' rate of 15% VAT vs 15% VAT,
after nearly a year of 15% VAT vs 17.5% VAT.

.. next month (and for the next years) we'll have 17.5% VAT vs 15%
VAT, which has to be worth at least another 1.5%-2% on inflation
surely?

Not necessarily, for a start loads of things are VAT free (most food,
most housing costs, second hand goods etc) or 5% VAT on fuel which
didn't change, and secondly VAT is really a tax on retailers rather
than customers, quite a lot of things didn't change in price when the
VAT rate went down. Prices are usually set based of what people are
prepared to pay rather than eg cost+margin+VAT.

--
Andy