https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/you-look-out-and-you-only-see-a-few-people-on-the-strand-washout-july-and-lack-of-beds-hits-tourism-sector-as-hopes-pinned-on-early-season-boost/a610994306.html
Irish hoteliers and others are back blaming the bad weather for their fall in custom, and not their own prices or charges.
What are your own experiences of excessive prices being charged in Ireland relative to the rest of the EU?
21 quid for a chicken salad!
I'm not eating here, don't worry. And ironically the drink prices aren't that bad. €30 for a bottle of prosecco.
Would cost less than €4 to make yourself with the guarantee that the rice would be freshly cooked as opposed to reheated (which shouldn't be done).
You are making the usual maths error.
If the selling price is 20, and that includes 10% VAT, the VAT is not 2.00.
The 20 selling price is 1.10 times the cost.
So divide 20 by 1.10 to get the pre-VAT cost.
18.18, so the VAT is 1.82.
Yes, I have seen that with US owned hotels.
It's a feature of booking software used by US owned hotels.
Email them back asking why they didn't reduce prices when the VAT cut was implemented
Presumably because that would have negated both the intention, and benefit of the vat cut, to help businesses. If it was passed onto the customer, how does that help?
The morgue, I presume
No the intention was to pass the cut to the consumer. VAT is a consumption tax, not a handout to business owners. And by not passing it on, and now "restoring" the rate, it fuels inflation.
How do you justify not passing the VAT cut to consumers, but passing on the restoration?
The VAT reduction was definitely to support businesses, and not the consumer.
https://www.globalvatcompliance.com/globalvatnews/ireland-covid-19-vat-implications/
I can neither confirm nor deny that... 👀👀👀
No it wasn’t.
"The 9% VAT rate was introduced in response to the challenges posed by COVID-19 to support the hospitality sector and today the government has decided to extend the period when the 9% rate will apply for a further six months. This will provide further support to the tourism and hospitality sectors over the busy November/December period and into the early New Year.”
https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/29536-minister-donohoe-announces-extension-of-9-vat-rate-for-the-tourism-and-hospitality-sectors/
Support would be from increased footfall by reducing prices for the end consumer.
I reduced the VAT rate I charge from 23% to 21% for the period of time that VAT reduction was in place.
Anyone who kept it for themselves is a gouger, no two ways about it. And now those same gougers are first out of the blocks to increase their prices because of VAT [see the example a number of posts back where a cafe increased the price of soft drinks by 25% and blamed it on VAT which is non sensible as a) it is the wrong % amount and b) soft drinks are in a different VAT category].
Just back from a weekend in Donegal.
Delicious Thai green curry in a cafe yesterday e11. Fish n chips in a different place today e12.95.
Pints in any pubs e5
Two take away horsebox coffees today e2.50 each.
I didn't see anything I thought was pricey.
The government has rented over half the hotel beds up there for refugees n hammered tourism this year. Now they have increased vat by 50% which is disgraceful n I've no doubt some of the pubs n restaurants I was in won't be around next year.
Where does that say that VAT was reduced so that proprietors can pocket the difference? Lower prices increases tourism and hospitality consumption, which is what should have happened. But 99% of establishments kept the difference for themselves, and introduced further price increases in the following months.
Where does it say it had to be passed onto the consumer? It was introduced as a support for businesses during Covid, the Government did not require businesses to lower prices by the amount vat was reduced.
You were obligated to reduce the VAT rate, so not sure why you mention it.
Despite what you might like to think, the reason the rates were reduced was to assist businesses, and they were fully expected to retain the extra cash.
What you chose to do is your own business.
If I was obliged to reduce the VAT rate then why does the same not apply to restaurants and tourism?
It does, and they all did reduce it. (Assuming they were trading legally).
And stealthily increased their base prices exclusive of VAT at the same time. And now increase the cost once again to the consumer, who always bears the cost of the VAT.
That’s business.
They can charge whatever they want, and pay the relevant VAT over to revenue.
It is the same everywhere. Every time there is a grant or scheme implemented by the State to help consumers, it is the businesses that pocket the money. There is no decrease for the consumer. You can look at all grants/scheme for housing, energy, etc
Seems that many business gougers got a double bonus as when VAT was reduced many did not pass on reduced prices and when it was increased again they increased their own prices more substantially. Win-win for the gougers.
I'll screenshot that to send to the Restaurant Association of Ireland next time they're out whinging about the number of restaurants that close in the next few months.
That's business lads.
You don’t think businesses continuing to trade helps those consumers that rely on their wages from said businesses?
Three course meal in pub/cafe in central Paris = 20 euro.
Their labour costs are higher than here, yet these prices are available.
Not much space in the pub/cafe, your table will be pushed up against another one.
https://goo.gl/maps/pdQhcxTL4d3NL9ZHA
17e in 2020, 20 euro by 2023.
Main course in large restaurant in central Paris = 9.50 to 12.50.
I was in this place in July.
To the contrary but if it is the goal then it should be made differently like, reducing tax on business with some criteria to target the businesses the State wants to help. I don’t like seeing these measures advertised as good news for consumers when in reality, we don’t get any benefits from it. This VAT decrease is one example but there are many more like this.
I’ve been to Paris a number of times at sporting events and around the tourist areas you can find some reasonable faire, and some extortionate prices for Shiite food. Over on the rugby forum you will find fans saying they are being charged €8 per pint, I was charged more than that in Montmartre, their tourist equivalent of Templebar. So posting about a restaurant offering a meal at a certain price provides no context of value.
Edit: a poster in Paris has just said it’s €10 a pint at stadium.
You do that.
It has ever been thus.
Some businesses go for the high margin, low volume trade, and others do it differently.
In a free market, those that get it right survive.
It’s only win win if people pay the prices charged, and if they do, then it’s the correct move by the business.
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