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Post by BigIain on Jul 7, 2009 16:11:08 GMT
I was being told today that France has taken 15% off the rate of TVA for all restuarant, bistro and cafe meals. Is this in fact the case? And has it lead to cheaper food or has it led to the 15% going straight in to the owners' pockets? I would like to think that the rest of the world follows suit, but I was also wondering... er... why do the owners not just lower their prices for the current economic situation and have more business from their own influence?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 7, 2009 16:47:05 GMT
Iain, do restaurants in France routinely add in a "service" charge -- enforced tipping? Is it possible that's what is being taken off, rather than the tax rate?
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Post by bjd on Jul 7, 2009 17:15:09 GMT
Iain is right -- it's the value added tax on restaurant meals that was lowered from 19.6% to 5.5%, which was the rate in take-out or fast-food places. It started on July 1, so I don't know how much effect it has had so far.
And, Bixa, yes, most restaurants include a service charge, so you don't have to tip.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2009 17:36:18 GMT
Well, the quick lunch menu at the Relais du Plaza at the Plaza Athénée has been reduced from 50€ to 44€. Actually, the restaurants in Paris are making a very big deal out of this since it is tourist season and it makes for great advertising. They are also counting on people's ignorance of the fact that the VAT remains unchanged on alcoholic beverages and that is where nearly all of their profit comes from. However, if the set meal that you have been paying 15€ for is now 12€, it encourages you to have an apéritif or a bottle of wine instead of the house carafe.
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Post by lola on Jul 8, 2009 0:30:49 GMT
No, thanks. House carafe will suit me just fine.
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Post by BigIain on Jul 8, 2009 8:53:18 GMT
I rarely drink alcohol so it sounds like a better deal for me. *keeps a straight face*
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Post by hwinpp on Jul 8, 2009 9:02:03 GMT
I seem to remember that VAT on food is half the normal rate in Germany also. On books too.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2009 14:30:49 GMT
It's been 3 months now, and it is estimated that restaurant prices throughout France have gone down an average of.... 0.5%.
While a few chain restaurants like Hippopotamus have lowered the price of 50 items on their menu by 10%, most places have really done little or nothing.
The government is livid about this.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 5, 2009 14:51:13 GMT
Gosh, I don't know if you all have heard of this, but there is a country on the other side of the Atlantic from France. There the government gave the banks a bunch of money in order to help the population, but to date it seems that the banks are hoarding it for themselves.
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Post by fumobici on Oct 5, 2009 15:45:27 GMT
Some countries like Canada will allow tourists to have their VAT outlays reimbursed upon providing the receipts as one leaves the country.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2009 16:51:04 GMT
In Europe, you can get a partial tax refund on goods taken out of the country, but not things consumed while you were there. I think Canada discontinued the tax refunds on hotel rooms and things they used to do like that.
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Post by bjd on Oct 6, 2009 15:16:59 GMT
The Canadian tax refunds have become much less interesting over the past few years. Some things are allowed in some provinces and not in others. If you supply a bill for a tax refund, you have to have a total expenditure of $50 on that bill -- not a total of $50 on several bills. It has become much more restrictive.
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