Prius PHV eligible for almost $8,000 in government subsidies... in the UK

Nice!

.

 

Alternative article here;

BBC News - Nine electric cars will be eligible for subsidies


One thing I would say is that £5,000 or $8,000 sounds a lot and would be if it were deducted from the US sticker price. I would ask you to remember that prices here in the UK are significantly higher (sales tax in the UK will be 20% in 2011!) and the £5,000/$8,000 would bring the original price down to acceptable levels.

Still it's a good thing and the Prius plug-in is included in the list of eligible vehicles so I will be eagerly awaiting its release.

 

20%!?!? yikes!

 

Goes from 17.5% to 20% at the beginning of next year.

It could be worse though, Ireland have increased theres to about 22% or 23%.

 

amazing. is that on any and all purchases?

 

It only applies to 'luxury' goods which works out to meaning pretty much anything that is manufactured. Childrens clothes and some food items are excluded. I believe a reduced rate applies to home electric and gas at 5%.

It's one of the main reasons items are so expensive over here - including petrol and diesel which have fuel tax AND vat (sales tax) added.

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_added_tax]Value added tax - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

A Prius over here costs between £20,265 ($31,935) and £23,398 ($36,868) including the vat sales tax at 17.5%. By the time the Plug In comes out vat will be 20% so you can see the £5,000 ($8,000) will come in handy in making EV's more accessible.

One thing I will say though, is that the VAT sales tax helps pay for the free at point of delivery healthcare we have here. Had reason to use this the other week which would have cost me thousands of £'s if I'd had to pay for it, so I half don't mind the high vat. It's what you get used to I guess.

 

This page lists more information about UK VAT rules and this page details the special items, while another page goes into detail on food.

Cakes, for example are zero rated. Biscuits (cookies) without chocolate are VAT exempt. Biscuits with chocolate have VAT on them. This led to notorious Jaffa Cake trial where McVities successfully argued that a [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Cakes"]Jaffa Cake[/ame] is a cake and not a chocolate biscuit. In fact, the food page specifically mentions Jaffa Cakes as a zero-rated item.

 

lol

Were you suggesting I should look at this page [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm]Sarcasm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] or possibly this one [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_the_piss]Taking the piss - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] ?

 

seems like a lot of taxation. but, if you get 'free' healthcare, education, retirement, etc., maybe it's worth it.

 

I thought I'd add some information for any colonials who'd like to know more about our (I'm not American*) interesting taxation system.

And all people should know about the Almighty Jaffa Cake. My wife loves them. Especially the special lime ones.

* yet, maybe.

 

The downside is that they're all cut-price options (in terms of the output) and you're forced to pay for them even if you are willing to pay for something better.

And the "free" retirement really sucks although the other benefits going with it help.

 

Pro's and con's to every system.

The medical service I got the other week would have cost $1,000's and $1,000's in the US and yet cost me nothing (other than the tax of course). In one day I fell ill and saw a number of Doctors and Consultants at the local hospital and then rushed to the city hospital where I had more consultants and doctors, emergency mri scan and a couple of nights stay, medication etc - all for free. When I got home I just had to worry about where the money was going to come from to pay then bills (other than minimal £60 a week social security), but not worry about medical insurance paperwork, exclusions and deductables.

Maybe if I was richer the US system would be good for me, but for a humble cabbie in the US I'm sure things could be harder. I don't know how your system fully works so I could be wrong. I could also pay more for private options for medical but cancelled that years ago when the economy went down hill.

Also, yeah the government pension here sucks and yes there are extras for the poorer but most people have additional private pensions of varying degrees and also investments. A lot of people will also use money from the sale of their bigger family house when they downsize to a smaller retirement house.

 

sounds a lot like here, but we don't have one health care system, or payment system, yet. so there are no experts on everything. i have private insurance, costs almost $15,000. a year for a family plan. no deductible, but we pay $25. everytime we go to the doctor and $50. for medicine. i fell ill a few years ago, had a myriad of tests done but they never found anything, finally got better on my own after two long years. trouble with this method is the premium keeps going up, but, so far, the only alternative is start cutting services or government tacks it onto deficit spending and long term debt. we don't have any money, china pretty much owns us.

 

But you have different systems which we find weird. Am I right in thinking that in certain States your car registration fee or licence fee includes some form of minimum insurance coverage? Surely a government scheme would be more open to fraud or encourage certain types to drive badly as could get cover come what may?

Here car insurance is compulsory and only available via registered private insurance companies with suitable reserves and the minimum personal injury liability is £unlimited and £250,00 min property damage, on private policies. There is no government cover provided at all, despite the large annual car tax we pay.

I would find it weird that a government provides car insurance, even minimal cover as I guess a lot of Americans find it weird our government provides health care.

It's the system you get used to I suppose.