No, removing VAT from tampons would not be a subsidy. It's a tax, which is totally different. What products the UK decides to tax or not, does not affect trade with the EU and therefore is none of their business. The EU's VAT regulations is something that needs to change. They're stupid. Each state sets their own level of VAT, but the EU still limits what it can be applied to.
Again, the UK voted in favor of this so I just cannot see how the UK can complain about something the UK voted for.
I have been very much an anglophile all my life and I admire that the British have what is objectively an outdated system of government but they make it work whereas other countries might have wonderful constitutions and laws on paper but the people cannot make them work effectively.
In my view what is happening in the UK with Brexit is out of character for the UK. The British were always very intelligent in their dealings with other countries and with their colonies and this Brexit mess is totally out of character. It is something I might expect from the French or other southern country but not from the Brits.
Were it me, I would leave on the 12th of April with no deal.
Well, that's another point of view but I think it misses a lot. It is like saying to someone who has blisters in a foot to just "shoot your foot off and be done with it". Yes, the problem with the blisters will be gone but suddenly you've got a bigger problem.
Everybody has said a hard border in Northern Ireland is a no-no so that rules out a no deal Brexit. There are several hundred thousand Britishers living in Spain. Who is going to be the one to tell them they must pack up and leave overnight? How is the UK going to manage the chaos and shortages? Suddenly UK trucks would not be allowed on EU roads without special permits. The UK is not prepared for a no deal Brexit. It would become the North Korea of Europe.
A lot of it is down to the fact that the UK is very different, both socially and politically to most other European countries.
But the public did not vote for this, when the originally voted to join. Fine you correctly state that the UK's elected government allowed this to happen, as they've been a EU member when the regulations were introduced, but this is not the same thing. The EU adds another layer of separation between the voters and rule makers.
But the public did not vote for this, when the originally voted to join. Fine you correctly state that the UK's elected government allowed this to happen, as they've been a EU member when the regulations were introduced, but this is not the same thing. The EU adds another layer of separation between the voters and rule makers.
The representatives the people of the UK chose to represent them in the EU voted for something and they got what they voted for. And this proves all that is wrong with the EU? I am afraid I do not quite follow you here.
A lot of it is down to the fact that the UK is very different, both socially and politically to most other European countries.
Having worked in several European countries, I believe this view is somewhat overdone. Of course each European country is different, and each has a different national character and language, but we generally do more things in common than different, when you look under the flags.
Too many British people genuinely feel that (1) their own government is incompetent, and (2) the EU is an international plot against their country. This allows them an intellectual "out" - they wash their hands of both of them and say "Nothing to do with me, mate!" while problems remain unfixed in both spheres, and good things are ignored.
Were it me, I would leave on the 12th of April with no deal.
Well, that's another point of view but I think it misses a lot. It is like saying to someone who has blisters in a foot to just "shoot your foot off and be done with it". Yes, the problem with the blisters will be gone but suddenly you've got a bigger problem.
Everybody has said a hard border in Northern Ireland is a no-no so that rules out a no deal Brexit. There are several hundred thousand Britishers living in Spain. Who is going to be the one to tell them they must pack up and leave overnight? How is the UK going to manage the chaos and shortages? Suddenly UK trucks would not be allowed on EU roads without special permits. The UK is not prepared for a no deal Brexit. It would become the North Korea of Europe.
What laws are enforced on the UK which people don't like? The tampon tax is a classic one. The UK government wants to remove VAT on sanitary product, yet the EU forbids it. This is a stupid law. The EU shouldn't have any right to interfere with what taxes our government imposes on what. It is an internal affair, nothing to do with the EU!
I'm cynical leaving will be as bad as you say, in the long run. Lots of other countries are not in the EU and do quite well: Australia, New Zealand, Japan etc. I agree it will be a massive upheaval. It will cause lots of problems and the UK will be worse off, but doubt it will really be that bad. Also note that aforementioined countries have trade deals with the EU, which don't involve being fully signed up to the single market. The UK doesn't have to accept the US food standards if it doesn't want to, but it would have to accept the increase in food prices.Before you joined the EU, could Scotland have decided to subsidise sanitary products on their own, or would that have to be decided in Westminster?
It is not an internal affair since you are part of the EU's internal market. A country can't decide to subsidise certain products on their own since it will affect the entire market. You would have to make such changes on the EU level (which would be quite possible if you get majority support in the EU).
The alternative you want instead, free trade agreements, are quite different. Then you make a bilateral agreement with e.g. the US on what taxes should apply, and once that agreement has been signed it will be nigh impossible to change. In that case you would have to renegotiate the deals every time you want to subsidise something (e.g. sanitary products) and who do you think will come out on top in deals between the UK and the US/Russia/EU/China? If you decide to subsidise it anyway your country will be sued in a investment court system (something the UK have been an enthusiastic proponent of btw). Who, on average, do you think will win those lawsuits?No, removing VAT from tampons would not be a subsidy. It's a tax, which is totally different. What products the UK decides to tax or not, does not affect trade with the EU and therefore is none of their business. The EU's VAT regulations is something that needs to change. They're stupid. Each state sets their own level of VAT, but the EU still limits what it can be applied to.
Even if it was a subsidy, it would be on goods traded internally and apply equally to both imports, as well as UK made ones and doesn't affect the EU. Suppose the UK government decide to subsidise stationary: pencils, paper, etc, sold in UK shops and supermarkets, not imported or exported. They should be allowed to do so, as long as it applies equally, to all stationary.
(...)
Scotland doesn't have any say what they tax, because they are not a separate state, but part of the UK and have voted to remain so, the same as the local government in the town I live in can't set VAT and subsidies.
Your statements about the US, Russia and China are incorrect. They have no control of what taxes and subsidies any foreign power applies to their products. For example, Australia has a trade deal with China, yet China don't tell them what they can and cannot tax or subsidise.
S.D. Myers v. Canada
Between 1995 and 1997 the Canadian government banned the export of toxic PCB waste, in order to comply with its obligations under the Basel Convention, of which the United States is not a party. Waste treatment company S.D. Myers then sued the Canadian government under NAFTA Chapter 11 for $20 million in damages. The claim was upheld by a NAFTA Tribunal in 2000.[40][41]
Ethyl Corporation v. Canada
In April 1997 the Canadian parliament banned the import and transport of MMT, a gasoline additive, over concerns that it poses a significant public health risk. Ethyl Corporation, the additive's manufacturer, sued the Canadian Government under NAFTA Chapter 11 for $251 million, to cover losses resulting from the "expropriation" of both its MMT production plant and its "good reputation".[43]
A similar challenge was launched by three Canadian provinces, under the Agreement on Internal Trade, and was upheld by a Canadian dispute settlement panel.[44] Consequently, the Canadian government repealed the ban and paid Ethyl Corporation $15 million as compensation.[45]
- Brexit has proven our own government is incompetent.
- Just read back through the last page of comments by those in other European countries and note some of the language used i.e. UK being in a barrel. Is it any surprise some people feel that way about Europe?
The UK should want to be in Europe for the benefits, not because it's scared of leaving. If the UK only remains in the EU due to fear, then is the EU really a union?
There are many forms of machines making our lives better.
Some of the brexiter politicians have made unfortunate statements about the EU which at least some people in other countries are bound to take personally. Even if you disagree with the treaties your country has signed and lived with for 45 years, is there any reason for senior politicians to resort to insulting other people? (Boris, we're thinking of you.) British people have a reputation for being civil and polite, so people don't know what to make of the vitriol.
As I posted earlier, it doesn't matter how Brexit works out, there is irreparable damage to the working relationships. Nobody in the EU will ever trust the UK again and I suspect the UK feels the same.
The EU could have made this process clean and easy. Instead they went out of their way to make it as difficult as possible and humiliating for the UK at every point along the way.
As I posted earlier, it doesn't matter how Brexit works out, there is irreparable damage to the working relationships. Nobody in the EU will ever trust the UK again and I suspect the UK feels the same.Divide and conquer. The enemies of the EU and the UK are no doubt celebrating right now.The EU could have made this process clean and easy. Instead they went out of their way to make it as difficult as possible and humiliating for the UK at every point along the way.BS. The EU is bending over backwards to accommodate Theresa May. They are screwing the EU and they want EU to thank them for it? Leaving was never going to be pain free, especially when some people go out of their way trying to make us mistrust each other.
It's a mess, no doubt! But has anybody in the EU given even an inch on the backstop once they realized is was a no-go?
The EU could have made this process clean and easy. Instead they went out of their way to make it as difficult as possible and humiliating for the UK at every point along the way.
And you consider Juncker, Tusk and Barnier as polite? To be fair, Barnier isn't as bad as the other two. What about Verhofstadt or the German Minister Michael Roth? Macron? About the only high level EU representative that hasn't trashed the UK is Merkel and she has her own problems. Not least because she championed this Freedom of Movement deal. What about Varadkar?
Then we have Spain and Pedro Sanchez.
As I posted earlier, it doesn't matter how Brexit works out, there is irreparable damage to the working relationships. Nobody in the EU will ever trust the UK again and I suspect the UK feels the same.
The entire idea of universal basic income is nonsense! Why does the .gov want to steal from me to give to somebody not inclined to get a job? Why would I want to pay for it? It failed in Finland - research it!
Manufacturing is on sunset, but it doesn't mean other industries won't rise. Robots can replace humans in manufacturing, and R&D to certain extent, but the technology is still far from being able to give the human-like care to other human beings.
This whole thing should settle out to complete separation and WTO rules. It's all very simple!
There is always an easy solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong.
Yes there's been vitriol on both sides. I don't think the UK is acting in a childish manner at all, no more so than the EU. I agree that some of our politicians are immature a-holes and the same goes for the EU.
The problem is when people voted for Brexit, they didn't all vote for the same thing and the same is true for our politicians. The division has impeded the ability for the UK to negotiate properly with the EU. On the other hand, the EU is united.
The rain began to fall again, and for a while it was too misty to see what the troops were doing. They had made a big half-circle across the plain, and were spreading out into a line. That line grew and grew and grew till it was three-quarters of a mile long from wing to wing—one solid wall of men, horses, and guns. Then it came on straight toward the Viceroy and the Amir, and as it got nearer the ground began to shake, like the deck of a steamer when the engines are going fast.
Unless you have been there you cannot imagine what a frightening effect this steady come-down of troops has on the spectators, even when they know it is only a review. I looked at the Amir. Up till then he had not shown the shadow of a sign of astonishment or anything else; but now his eyes began to get bigger and bigger, and he picked up the reins on his horse’s neck and looked behind him. For a minute it seemed as though he were going to draw his sword and slash his way out through the English men and women in the carriages at the back. Then the advance stopped dead, the ground stood still, the whole line saluted, and thirty bands began to play all together. That was the end of the review, and the regiments went off to their camps in the rain;
Then I heard an old grizzled, long-haired Central Asian chief, who had come down with the Amir, asking questions of a native officer.
‘Now,’ said he, ‘in what manner was this wonderful thing done?’
And the officer answered, ‘There was an order, and they obeyed.’
‘But are the beasts as wise as the men?’ said the chief.
‘They obey, as the men do. Mule, horse, elephant, or bullock, he obeys his driver, and the driver his sergeant, and the sergeant his lieutenant, and the lieutenant his captain, and the captain his major, and the major his colonel, and the colonel his brigadier commanding three regiments, and the brigadier his general, who obeys the Viceroy, who is the servant of the Empress. Thus it is done.’
‘Would it were so in Afghanistan!’ said the chief; ‘for there we obey only our own wills.’
‘And for that reason,’ said the native officer, twirling his moustache, ‘your Amir whom you do not obey must come here and take orders from our Viceroy.’
Lots of people don't understand the consequences of Brexit. Let's put it from a USA centric perspective. Suppose a state, say California wants to leave the USA, for whatever reason. Unless a trade deal is struck with the USA there will be tariffs, a hard boarder with the US, including customs checks. One couldn't simply travel to and fro without a visa. Imagine how disruptive that would be. Who do you think would be worse off: the remaining US or California? It may be the most wealthy single state, but alone it would still be smaller and poorer, than the US. I admit it's an exaggeration, as the UK isn't tied to the EU as strongly, but you get the idea.
Americans can travel to the EU without a visa (limited to 90 days with a process change in the works), why wouldn't the Brits, a close neighbor, have the same privileges?
A weak and divided UK will be taking orders from countries with stronger economies.