Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Are Pringles Potato Chips?

Proctor and Gamble, the maker of Pringles, would argue they are NOT potato chips due to their "unnatural shape" and the fact that they are made from flour they are "are more like a cake or a biscuit'. Oh, and they only contain 42% potato and come in a tube.

A British appeals court didn't buy that and ruled Pringles are indeed potato chips. Why the court ruling? Money, of course. Potato crips (chips to Yanks) are subject to the VAT in Britian but food is not. The tax amounts to about 20 million Pounds per year.

This reminds me of the 1893 U.S Supreme Court ruling Nix vs Hedden that a tomato is a vegetable and not a fruit (ticking off botanists everywhere). The case was over (anyone care to guess?) taxes. Taxes were required to be paid on imported vegetables but not fruit and it too the Supreme Court to sort it all out.

I am thinking of reclassifying my internet access, computer, cable bill and big screen television as "brain food"...after all, we don't pay taxes on food! What other good tax dodging schemes can we come up with?

11 comments:

OrbsCorbs said...

I don't think Pringles are chips. They're reconstituted. They're processed, like "cheese food." What the hell is that? What do Pringles' cans say: potato chips or crisps?

I'm gonna use the JTI for a tax dodge and tell the IRS I lost a ton of money investing in it.

But I like the idea of excluding something from tax by definition. Like, if I buy a car from someone without an engine in it, then I shouldn't have to pay a motor vehicle tax because there is no motor.

Beejay said...

Oh Orbs, I love it when you talk dirty chips...yep, I do...

Anonymous said...

I think I should have complete medical assistance because the government allowed me to become addicted to cigarettes. They ARE legal and ARE adicting. Therefore.....

Toad said...

I don't think Pringles are Potato Chips. I do think they are a better buy though. They don't come all smashed.

AvengingAngel said...

Another idiotic thing is that you can't call something "Champagne" unless it is made in particular regions of France. I say, F those frog eating, german speaking if it wasn't for us, hairy, smelly, "Regardez, je donne une cigarette à un bébé", bastards. We can call our stuff "Champagne" if we want!

kkdither said...

Uh oh, AA has finally snapped....Did anyone fully understand that rampage? We should just come up with a better name, and a better product, to put those champagne producing you-know-what elitists out of business. Free market.

I think I could easily say that my internet access and cable should count for education tax credits... so what if I use wikipedia??? I never cite it as a source!

btw, pringles are awful... value added? I'd have to say value reduced. It doesn't surprise me that they are only 42% potato.

OrbsCorbs said...

If they're only 42% potato, what's the other 58%? Sawdust?

SER said...

Reminds me Harley Davidson. They won a court order that “finished” motorcycles being shipped into the United States had an extra tariff added. They made a big deal out of it with the media.

Whoop-de-do...Honda built a plant in the US, shipped “un-assembled” motorcycles to it. They were missing handlebars and I forgot what else, might have been the gas tank. Thus avoiding even more taxes!

kkdither said...

Cosmetic surgery, breast implants and liposuction could qualify for neighborhood beautification tax credits if you wash your car or lay out in your swimsuit once a week... Heck, I think you could take a double deduction by lessening the cost to medicare for prescription claims on Viagra!

Huck Finn said...

AA give the French a break. They do have topless beaches ya know, and they are becoming americanized. They shave their arm pits before hitting the beach.

hale-bopp said...

AA, it's kind of like a farmer in Nebraska claiming he makes "Wisconsin Cheese". I bet farmers in Wisconsin wouldn't like it either while the farmer in Nebraska says he will call it what he wants.