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?!
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