I can't go for VAT

For the last few years we've been campaigning to get VAT removed from fruit smoothies. We don't think it makes sense that the government taxes people on something healthy, like our drinks, when food like pizzas and doughnuts aren't taxed. In fact, fruit isn't taxed, but our smoothies are - when all they contain is fruit. Weird.

So we've been scratching our heads with confusion this morning as the government has decided they will continue to charge VAT on fruit smoothies. Ultimately, if the VAT charge was reduced, we could pass the saving on to our drinkers.

We don't want to sound like we're throwing our toys out of the pram here (we probably shouldn't be in a pram anyway - we're fully grown), but if they're going to spend millions of pounds encouraging people to eat more fruit and veg, shouldn't they be making it easier for us to eat more healthily, not harder?

Comments

[john Palmer]

How about discounting one flavour a week by 20% (cos that's VAT'll be soon) to help people try all the varieties?

[Rickyvann]

I agree! There should be VAT on unhealthy foods like you said and no VAT on good healthy food & drinks!

[Hayley Chalmers]

There is no sense to the application of VAT. It's supposed to be on things that have added value, so not basic foods or things that are required and are not luxuries. Kiddies clothes have no VAT even if they are luxury clothes - no sense. There is still plenty of argument in the biscuit market (I think) about what has/has not VAT applied. Presumably the fact that you have squished and mixed up the fruit 'adds value'. Surely designer clothes for kiddies have 'added value'. Did I mention no sense?

[Mark Anthony]

Interesting, and I don't disagree. Although I would like to know why your smoothies cost more here in Guernsey, Channel Islands, where there is no VAT than in the UK.

[Charlie]

I agree completely.

I don't understand how tampons and toilet paper have VAT added to them either. Luxury items? Pfft.

[[email protected]]

I will still buy your smoothies :) even with VAT. Yum yum yum.

[Camilla]

Yep, i dont understand it either.

I feel a big innocent campaign approaching..... I would most DEFINATLY support it!!

[Robert Marshall]

Should have a petition against added VATon smoothies, can imagine that you would get quite a lot of names.

[Matt DC]

"If they're going to spend millions of pounds encouraging people to eat more fruit and veg, shouldn't they be making it easier for us to eat more healthily, not harder?"

Have you ever considered lowering your extortionate prices? That might help too.

[Jack]

I dunno, Matt. Four pounds for a fruit juice that creates World Peace is a pretty special deal.

[Matt DC]

Perhaps they could eat a piece of fresh fruit, available for about 30p?

[caek]

If Innocent and the Coca Cola corporation are not adding value to the ingredients, then why do the smoothies cost several hundred per cent more than than the ingredients?

[louis jagger]

LEAVE INNOCENT SMOOTHIES ALONE!

[Paul]

Perhaps the nasty taxman is making them?

[Wally]

You probably think all pizza is either thick-crust synthetic angina-goop or available for no less than £13.99 from that joint next to Cafe 1001.

[Jack]

Surely eating a whole piece of fruit is far healthier for you than just drinking its juice, anyway?

What happens to all the pulp Innocent wastes? Does it go straight out of the factory and into landfill, or does Coke use it to flavour all the various types of Fanta?

[joe]

What about if the taxman knitted a little hat for your smoothies and then charged an extra 20 per cent? Would that be all right?

[Ronan]

nigel the taxman is very unhappy at innocent smoothies being mean to him!

perhaps we should all share a smoothie and decide that a little bit of vat won't stop us making millions of pounds!

and nigel the taxman can take money from people who don't work very hard and don't need it!

then we can all get along and the people who don't work very hard can have a delightful little hat!

send us your thoughts for what hats working class people should wear!

the best one will win a trip to mars! (just kidding, we don't know how to get to mars, and if we did, we would be building a marketing campaign there, not inviting you!)

[stevem]

It would be an eerie parallel if, like Al Capone, Innocent Smoothies only went down for Tax Evasion. I would still throw back a 4Loco to celebrate though.

[Wally]

Everybody's talkin' 'bout
Extra tax, cheap snacks, smoothie hats, fat-cats, trackbacks, wane/wax
Site-hacks, price-jacks, shown cracks, false facts
All we are saying is give juice a chance
All we are saying is give juice a chance

[Davey]

Innocent Smoothies are very sad about having to charge VAT on our very expensive yummy smoothies because it means we have to pass it on to all of our customers. We don't want to pay it ourselves because we don't like our money going to schools and hospitals and budget deficits and other nasty things.

It means we have more money to spend on little hats and pictures of flowers and festivals with Kate Nash and yummy treats for our social media consultants, and other nice things!

[Garu g]

My granny drinks innocent

[A Bookish Space]

I agree - totally ridiculous!!!

[CONNOR SMEDLEY]

AWOOOOOOOOO

[Emma Woods]

If you have a problem with the price of the Smoothies, don't buy them, they're not forcing you to. Yes, they are more expensive than a piece of fruit because you're paying for someone to come up with the flavour combination, someone to design the bottle, an ad, the bottle itself, someone to be in charge of paying all the people who do this. I'm sure Innocent don't mind the VAT going towards schools and hospitals because none of it goes towards making sure that politicians can make massive expense claims to the tune of more than a lot of people earn in a year...

[Jade C]

I think that it is ridiculous to put VAT on fruit smoothies, or anything healthy, at that. It is not fair, when people want to be eating more healthily, that the more healthy drinks and food are the more expensive products, when places such as McDonalds are so cheap..
If there is a campaign for VAT-free smoothies, I ((plus my boyfriend, my brother, Nan, as many people as possible from work and even my Dad!!)) will be in full support of Innocent!!

Who's with me??

[Ooh Aah Cantaloop]

I've read some of these comments and found myself nodding and saying 'yes' out loud even tho I'm alone here. But kids are on the street are getting their futures sliced up and blended into an overly sweet goop and all you lot care about is juicy profits. I despear.

[nabisco]

VAT on Innocent Smoothies is so silly! Innocent smoothies are lush!! Maybe the judge was a secret salad dodger lol ?!?!?! Innocent Smoothies for PM!!!!

[Matthew Fluxington Perpetua]

I think if you worry any more about vat you'll give yourselves a melon-noma (melanoma)!!!

[angry mum]

My kids love Innocent Smoothies how am I supposed to explain to them that mum can't buy them any more because I refuse to support the illegal occupation of Iran?

[Ffyfe Dinglefield]

We all have to pay our taxes to the stinking Eurocrats. Even me and I'm just a banana.

I would have spoken out sooner but I was worried they would have me liquidated.

[Tim]

VAT is a terrible affliction that we all have to suffer.......I blame the French.

[Denzel Bainbridge]

I actually remember the first time I ever drank an Innocent Smoothie. September 10, 2001. I'd sent my then paramour, Beatrice, down to the local Co-Op to purchase a discounted fruit salad (most Co-Ops reduce to clear at 9pm, our local one does so an hour earlier).

I'd instructed her to puree it as soon as she returned to our house, but little did I know she had sold our blender earlier in the day to feed her online poker habit. Thinking ahead, she purchased what was then known as "liquified fruit salad" (now more commonly known as "smoothie"), by an upstart brand called Innocent.

Ironically, the smoothie was the only "Innocent" one in the situation here. I left Beatrice as soon as the truth became apparent, but I'll always remember that fruit salad. Always.

[Frank Kogan]

Please will you bring out liquidised spaghetti bolognese and liquidised full English breakfast too.

[Cory Sklar]

When will the govenrment stop cowtowing to big business and give little guys like Innocent a chance?! Don't they realise Innocent are trying to make the world a better place?

Just this week I've collected enough little hats to sew together and make one normal sized hat for the homeless guy outside my bank.

[Callum Waddell]

Pour Out An Innocent Fruit Smoothie For Innocent Fruit Smoothies Rip.

[Ffyfe Dinglefield]

It is literally outrageous that these greedy Eurocrats should punish honest entrepreurial types like Innocent by forcing them to put their hard-earned profits back into the so-called "well-fair state". Well, it is just not well fair!!! It goes to fund dole spungers and nurses who probaly don't by your drinks in the first place.

I'm just a banana but I would definitely take this up with the court of a-peel.

Thank god I live in Durban.

[Don Passantino]

In the 70s Margaret Thatcher was known as the Milk Snatcher as she stole The MILK from children. In the 10s it is George Osbourne Where's-Our-Fruit-Gone as he steals The HEALTH from our children.

[Damiano Tommasi]

Feel like Innocent Smoothies "effin smashed it" with this post, made me "re-evaluate" what tax REALLY is.

[Martin Skidmore]

First!

[John Crawford, The VAT Consultancy]

There is no logic in the VAT treatment on drinks. This is the latest in a series of rulings we've seen at The VAT Consultancy on the classification of food and drink items. Lucozade Sport Isotonic and Subway have also received unfavourable rulings from HMRC. We’ve had the great pringle debate – when is a crisp not a potato – and of course the famous Jaffa Cake – when is a cake a biscuit…….. When it comes to drinks, coffee, tea and milk are zero-rated when bought in a super-market, but chargeable for VAT when purchased as a prepared hot drink. Anything classed as a beverage will carry VAT, so fruit juices and fizzy drinks are subject to VAT. Bottled water is also considered a beverage and therefore subject to VAT too. On the food side, doughnuts or cakes are zero rated, but the little old chocolate digestive is standard rated. Forget logic when you have to consider VAT.

[Molesworth In Action]

Jaffa cake is a pie as any fule kno chiz chiz

[Hans Sung]

Totally agree, No VAT for fruit smoothies . If there's no VAT on luxury kids clothes , this is really ridiculous...

[JP]

I can imagine a very successful campaign on the interweb on this topic

abolish vat on smoothies

it would get a big following quickly and its something that cameron and his buddies could jump on and say 'look everyone, we want you to be healthy and we made smoothies cheaper to help you'

[Yasmin]

Completely agree. Let's get a national campaign going...write to a few MP's and a few movers and shakers. How many signatures would we need? You have our support here at The Green Desk. It'll be tough because you're so successful and growing each year - that's a lot of money not making it;s way to the VAT man but weigh that up against cuts in NHS bills, days off work and generally being a lot healthier and you have a very good chance...

[Philip]

what exactly is so healthy about a drink with 30g of sugar in a 250ml bottle? fruit sugar is still sugar...