The Great Cake Debate

It is comforting to hear that many of the great philosophical questions of our time are being answered by VAT tribunals on a regular basis! I give as an example the important issue of the nature of a cake!  In a recent case the First-tier Tribunal was presented with a plate full of assorted cakes and asked to consider whether one of the items, a snow ball, was a cake or confectionary (yes it matters for VAT purposes).  The judges’ comments are entertaining enough without further comment from me so here they are.

“A snowball looks like a cake. It is not out of place on a plate full of cakes.  A snowball has the mouth feel of a cake.  Most people would want to enjoy a beverage of some sort while consuming it.  It would often be eaten in a similar way on similar occasions to cakes; for example, to celebrate a birthday in the office.  We are wholly agreed that a snowball is a confection to be savoured but not while walking around or, for example, in the street.  Most people would prefer to be sitting when eating a snowball and possibly, or preferably, depending on the background, age, sex etc with a plate, napkin or a piece of paper or even just a bare table so that the pieces of coconut which fly off do not create a great deal of mess.  Although by no means everyone considers a snowball to be a cake we find that these facts, in particular, mean that a snowball has sufficient characteristics to be characterised as a cake.”

This just leaves one of life’s big questions to answer - how do I get to sit on a VAT tribunal?!