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"Pasty tax" was a popular phrase used by the British press to describe a proposal made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Conservative MP George Osborne, in the 2012 United Kingdom budget to simplify the tax treatment of "hot takeaway food" so that Value Added Tax (VAT) would be charged at 20% in all cases. The change would have increased the sale price of hot snacks such as sausage rolls and Cornish pasties sold on the premises where they were baked. The issue became a political controversy, described by at least one newspaper as a political scandal, dubbed Pastygate in March 2012. ==Background== Under long-standing VAT legislation, sale of most foods bought to eat or cook at home is zero-rated for VAT, meaning that no tax is charged. By contrast, meals bought and consumed in a restaurant, and hot take-away food or drink, are charged at a standard 20% tax rate. At the boundary between these two classes, there has been a history of legal challenges around food which is baked for sale, and is sold while still hot. If food could be claimed to be hot only incidentally, it could be zero-rated - this would apply to freshly baked bread, but also pies, pasties and similar items. stated:
In the March budget papers, the Government published a paper which claimed: ''The borderline between hot takeaway food (standard-rated) and cold takeaway food (zero-rated) has for a number of years been the subject of litigation with some retailers arguing that the purpose of heating their food products is to improve their appearance or to comply with health and safety regulations, rather than to enable them to be consumed hot. This litigation has been decided on the facts of each individual case.'' The document proposed to '' apply VAT at the standard rate to all food which is at a temperature above the ambient air temperature at the time that it is provided to the customer, with the exception of freshly baked bread. This will clarify the rules in this area and ensure that all hot takeaway food is taxed consistently.'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pasty tax」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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