20% increase on supplements from Oct 1st

A petition was already tried, a few of the big retailers even formed a group to try and fight it but nothing came of it.
 
Big Chris said:
Whoa, didn't know this :eek:

I buy a 4kg tub of protein/carb gainer every month which is around £35 - so I can add £7 to that?!
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Yep, for whatever reason in their infinite wisdom they decided health supplements were a better target for VAT than junk food. :rolleyes:
 
tom_e said:
Yep, for whatever reason in their infinite wisdom they decided health supplements were a better target for VAT than junk food. :rolleyes:
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Pretty much what annoys me in this day an age, junk food is cheaper than healthy food, if it was the opposite, then the nation would more than likely be fitter and healthier.
 
But it's alright I can crack on and stock up on Greggs pasties without paying VAT, because that caused uproar amongst the fat MPs
 
'Wes said:
Pretty much what annoys me in this day an age, junk food is cheaper than healthy food, if it was the opposite, then the nation would more than likely be fitter and healthier.
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Because making bad things more expensive works right?
Looks at smokers still paying out over £7 a packet.....

The problem isn't price, it's convenience and attitude.

By convenience I don't even mean Maccy Ds etc, more the cheap pies from Iceland or whatever similar crap some people buy, throw in microwave or over for 20 mins and then serve with crap sides. Horrifically calorific and full of crap, yet quick and easy to cook and serve.
 
tom_e said:
Yep, for whatever reason in their infinite wisdom they decided health supplements were a better target for VAT than junk food. :rolleyes:
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That's what annoys me. As someone who's not too bothered about supps, I would still sign a petition as it's appalling. If they targeted junk food and refined/processed carbs as well at least it could be justified, this is just plain ridiculous.
 
Looks like supplementers are going to have to switch to Meal Replacement Drinks, as they remain zero-rated.

The change relates to sports nutrition drinks and their associated preparation (i.e. syrups, powders, essences, etc.), so I'll be interested to see if they can tax the constituent elements that constitute supplementation via food as opposed to drink. For instance, it's difficult to determine whether caplets qualify.

If anybody's interested in the specifc proposal, google "sports nutrition drinks vat HMRC" and read their guidance PDFs.

What is interesting is that creatine and protein supplementation, as well as things like l-glutamine have been consistently (and reliably, more importantly) proven to show significant medical benefits for patients suffering from muscle atrophy disease (MS, Parkinsons, etc.) as well as for trauma recovery, so I'd be interested to see what test cases come out from this.

Either way, it's pretty dumb: the government has probably folded to the powers at Pepsi/Cocacola to level the Sports Drink playing field...
 
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