I won't bore people with the maths but the reduction of VAT from 17.5% to 15% means that the price of these items should fall by roughly 2.1%

The key thing is to look for prices that are normally set at £x.99 falling to odd prices.

A fun game to play is to make note of prices before Monday and check up on them subsequently ...

In reality?

Big chains will simply work the sums so that you pay the same for things as you did before, just less of the amount is taken up by VAT.

Also, a thought.

At work, we've been ordering items at 17.5% VAT. When jobs containing these parts are invoiced, we will only be getting back 15%.

That doesn't sound a massive difference, but when it adds up...
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In reality Amazon has already taken onboard the VAT change and adjusted its prices accordingly. I expect the highly competitive markets will have to change, whereas niche markets are likely to remain the same.

Thought the lowervat code was only for certain things on Amazon rather than everything so far?

Whatever the case its not really going to make much difference or help most of us, unless of course your buying a higher priced item...a few pence saving wont help me or allow me to buy xmas presents this year

now if they reduced income tax to 15% ............ it might be a bit more worthwhile .......

Was surprised they did it but more surprised that we couldn't lower it more than that as it's the EU minimum rate.

Wonder if many stores have noticed a reluctance of people to buy the more expensive items until next week, hence moves like Amazons.

They will always be winners and losers when it comes to a tax change. That's the way things work.

I'm certainly trying to think through some of the purchases that I've put off (maybe now is the time for me to have a Wii in the living room) to see whether I should set about actually buying them.

If you can afford it, now is probably the time to support your local economy - if only through a sense of civic pride.

There's also minimum rate VAT too, I believe, which applies to things like child car seats.

There is the reduced rate, which is 5%, but its been a while since I looked at what sort of products came under which classification.

I remember that cakes come under one classification and biscuits another, which is why there was an issue as to which Jaffa Cakes were classified under, and so which rate McVities had to charge.

There is also the odd fact that when you eat in you are charged a different rate to when you take-away.
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