1st July 2009, 02:22 PM
Quote:quote:Originally posted by Unitof1
Thanks old girl. I can see how to pay vat and how it works in the book keeping sense, but I am interested in the exemptions such as book writing, educational, research and also as a product required by local authorities. If one archaeologist can dig a hole without vat why cant all the rest of us. These exemptions are legitimate and have been utilised by various archaeologists in various circumstances. If you like it, goes along with my current Ice coc theme, which for the vat angle is that: archaeologists turns up on a landowners site (archaeology owners site) and says yes I can do the work and that will be 15% on top as well, for the government. To my way of thinking this makes the owner of the archaeology a little bit sad (15%) and I worry that it might make that owner a little bit not liking archaeology and archaeologists and then it might make that land owner very interested in panning and podsolisation and improving their land and what with fertiliser being very expensive, all of a sudden, the landowner is very very interested in sub-soiling
These are fair points, to some extent and assuming I follow it all properly, but I can't imagine many cases where someone is going to be able to go to said landowner, do the work and not charge VAT. The excemptions are quite specific as far as I know but I certainly don't know what they all are. It would be a lot easier if all archaeological work was VAT excempt, and arguably there is no reason why it shouldn't be (especially if carrying out archaeological work is in itself enough to count as charitable, even when done under the most commercial of circumstances - discuss.) It can't contribute that much to the VAT man's coffers in real terms, although I don't suppose those who currently have a cost advantage in some circumstances because they are not VAT registered would be overjoyed at the prospect. After all, there are certain cases where teaching as an externally contracted lecturer is VAT exempt, as I learnt today.