You'd think HMG would be trying to attract wealthy foreign shoppers as they'll spend big in local communities while they're here. However this Government has made mistake after mistake after mistake since being elected so not too surprising I guess.
British watch shops lose advantage of tax-free prices for tourists
https://usa.watchpro.com/british-wat...-for-tourists/
Last edited by abraxas; 18th September 2020 at 18:27.
You'd think HMG would be trying to attract wealthy foreign shoppers as they'll spend big in local communities while they're here. However this Government has made mistake after mistake after mistake since being elected so not too surprising I guess.
Might help with availability with less big spenders buying coming in from abroad, because the UK has been the cheapest place to buy
Although current demand will have dropped as tourists aren’t travelling like they were, long term it might mean more people from the uk will be able to buy the currently harder to source watches. Can only be a good thing if you actually buy your watches to enjoy and wear, keeping them as investments might not be as good going forward.
We all know that some UK residents were abusing the airport tax-free scheme. That’s money needed to fund the NHS and many other necessary things. So, about time.
Visitor reluctance to post the item home at point of purchase instead of using / wearing it, the burden on the retailer of posting securely and dealing with 'not-received' claims and import costs dis-incentivising purchases could well have a negative impact. That would be a mistake, would it not?
Oh, COVID mistakes, one after another, are pretty serious mistakes. Thinking the EU will bow to UK demands was a huge mistake. Selling Brexit on unfettered trade with NI was a mistake....actually it was a massive lie, rather than a mistake.
Last edited by TaketheCannoli; 17th September 2020 at 13:51.
Are you suggesting that our esteemed leaders Boris & Cummings might have made a mistake? You're obviously one of those remoaners! Anyway, so what, no-one died did they? Oh, Covid, 40,000+ did. Its not that Boris lies, its just that he has no idea what the concept of 'truth' means.
So what. We shouldn't facilitate crooked tourists.Originally Posted by Simon Walton, MD of Berry's in Watch Pro's article
Hopefully this will result in less tax dodging across the globe (from UK purchases). And maybe improve availability to boot.
It only just dawned on me that Watch Talk doesn't actually stipulate "no politics or religion". You learn something new every day.
100% agree. The MD from Berrys is basically condoning tax evasion from his Chinese clients. He is quite happy for them to splurge their cash in his shops with the tax free incentives and let them walk out bags full so as to avoid the import charges when they arrive back in China etc.
Will be interesting to see the impact of this on the tourist spend within the UK luxury goods market but would assume it could be huge. What is the China import tax for Luxury watches and Vuitton bags!
Last edited by Flasher; 17th September 2020 at 17:38. Reason: Error
While true. The Article says global blue operates in France. Post Brexit, we will potentially be able to buy VAT free in Europe, and some people head back to the U.K. without declaring.
How does that help? If VAT is lost on these transactions at airport by British buyers, WOS/Aurum groups profits suffer and in turn the tax paid.
Last edited by Sean89; 17th September 2020 at 18:58.
I agree, I think this isn’t as simple as people are making out, although I know TZ loves to hate the VAT-dodgers. There’s still going to be VAT-free shopping in the UK as in any country and the airport situation is unchanged elsewhere. If you are a tourist who specifically wants to airport shop, you’ll just avoid Heathrow and go to Schiphol or shop away from the airport. Now consider the job losses at Heathrow and you’ve got yet more unemployment around Hounslow...more people not paying tax and more people on universal credit.
I assume the government has a good reason for this, but I don’t think our current leadership is very pro UK aviation. Seems like another hammer blow to an already hard hit industry. Sadly, there are plenty of other countries willing to step in though.
Fully willing to admit, I’ve only read a brief summary and the only reason I’ve read for the change is an MP saying some airport shops hadn’t passed all of the savings onto customers...which seems a bit odd reasoning.
Last edited by Christian; 17th September 2020 at 19:10.
The article doesn't make this entirely clear, but this move extends beyond airport shopping; the UK is ending the Retail Export Scheme, which is what allows overseas visitors/non-residents to show their passport when they make a purchase at a store in the UK and receive a VAT refund at the airport when they leave the country.
I don't want to get into politics, but as some have mentioned, I don't think this is as straightforward a decision as some are making out. A tremendous amount of people come to the UK to spend money in our stores on shopping trips, which includes putting money into the economy not only in our shops but also hotels, restaurants, cabs, etc. Now it isn't true that all of them do it because they don't have to pay VAT on the items they buy, and many people will of course visit the UK and go shopping. But often it is an incentive for people to spend money here, as VAT at 20% is pretty high (particularly if you are coming from somewhere like the US where sales tax can be a percentage in the single digits). The upside I guess is that potentially there is a case to be made that fewer people will come in to buy expensive watches and there could be more supply for those of us who actually live here, which I agree is a positive thing. But I rather suspect the end result will likely be loss of revenue by businesses, loss of tourism, and the loss of jobs by way of the industry (Global Blue, etc.) that currently exists in the UK purely to facilitate VAT refunds.
It also is unlikely to make any difference on international tax dodging as the same wealthy overseas tourists who schedule shopping trips in London can just make the trip to member states of the EU in future (as someone mentioned, Paris is one of them) where they will still benefit from VAT free shopping. Whatever else, it seems to me counterintuitive on the government's part in the midst of Brexit to effect a change that will render Paris and other EU cities more competitive as a place for shopping/tourism.
Last edited by Lantenac06; 17th September 2020 at 19:39.
I guess whatever the decision is, it seems pretty basic maths so I trust a government decision should benefit the UK, particularly with Brexit. I can’t see us doing this if it harms the states income?
This thread had politics in it from the outset...one of those things where watch talk and politics combine.
So that's a few million lost by people taking the mick out of this scheme. Irrelevant in the grand scheme of things - if large corporations paid the correct amount of corporation tax, that would be a benefit to our exchequer of at least 6 billion a year. That should be the focus, but the tories suck up to businesses too much.