Anything in the pipeline to prevent shoppers crossing the border?

Bottle_of_Smoke

So last year retailers took a massive hit due to many people shopping up north.

Cheaper cost of living, lower vat rate and weak sterling brought people up. I think the weak sterling was the main factor - At time of posting one euro equals 89p.

Last year Lenihan admitted he made a mistake on vat which cost the economy millions.

Anyone heard if they're goign to do anything to keep shoppers in the 26 counties this year? Or any ideas for things they should do?

Hootanany

This Crowd expect vat to come down half percent so they can still live like royalty :mad:

givyjoe81

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

So last year retailers took a massive hit due to many people shopping up north.

Cheaper cost of living, lower vat rate and weak sterling brought people up. I think the weak sterling was the main factor - At time of posting one euro equals 89p.

Last year Lenihan admitted he made a mistake on vat which cost the economy millions.

Anyone heard if they're goign to do anything to keep shoppers in the 26 counties this year? Or any ideas for things they should do?

I would be very cautious due to your phrasing of the thread, i.e. 'prevent', The government shouldnt even dare think about 'preventing' (nor are they entitled to, EU-Free market) us from going up North, they should be incentivising us not too, as should retailers down here. Im sure that's what you meant (although you do say 'keep' us here too?!)

What about lowering the Vat rate for Christmas to the same as UK.

leddpipe

givyjoe81 wrote: »

What about lowering the Vat rate for Christmas to the same as UK.

I thought thats what the (their) plan was!?

crossmolinalad

more wage cuts
more sw cuts
more taxes to pay
more more more from everything

so more people to the north

murphaph

givyjoe81 wrote: »

What about lowering the Vat rate for Christmas to the same as UK.

A VAT rate is for the entire financial year, not just for christmas.

mikemac

"Random" checkpoints just inside the border
Just random checks but will cause hours of delays.

Now if I were a senior civil servant it's something that could be done.

gurramok

As far as I know, there is no VAT rate on food so no gain there. Lets face it, the pimary mover of shopping up there is the booze which leads to all the other bargains that can be obtained.

Also, we had Tesco's change for good campaign here which slowed the exodus a bit but sadly they u-turned and put prices up again so the exodus will resume unless retailers cop the feck on we're not stupid.

I plan to get a few 1L bottles of the Irish made product Baileys. Retailing for about 28quid here or a lucky 26quid in a special offer, its usually 11quid Stg in Asda/Sainburys/Tesco or 10quid in a northern special offer.

Now, where is the incentive for me to buy Baileys here? (Multiply that for whiskey/Vodka..any spirit and of course beer & cider)

Why don't they lower the taxes & excise on alcohol considering southern shoppers form a huge % of the Northern off trade?

If they cut the taxes & excise to be competitive, so what if we buy more? I'm not gonna drink more in a session, i'm a responsible drinker so it will have no affect on the majority of us that are responsible with alcohol so no justification for the high taxes & excise there.

DublinWriter

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Anyone heard if they're goign to do anything to keep shoppers in the 26 counties this year? Or any ideas for things they should do?

There's nothing they can do - it's called the EU baby!

mikemac

gurramok wrote: »

As far as I know, there is no VAT rate on food so no gain there. Lets face it, the pimary mover of shopping up there is the booze which leads to all the other bargains that can be obtained.

Entirely correct sir.
Booze is a major factor though not the only one.
Baby products like nappies in ROI attract VAT so if you're close to border you'd be mad to buy baby products here

gurramok wrote: »

Also, we had Tesco's change for good campaign here which slowed the exodus a bit but sadly they u-turned and put prices up again so the exodus will resume unless retailers cop the feck on we're not stupid.

Yep, as an example, in 2008 Tesco Kick (basically Red Bull) was 89c. They kicked it up to 99c and in early 2009 it was 1.27. Pre-Euro, £1 was €1.27.
Went to 99c in their change for good campaign a few months back and now it's €1.05, a 6% increase

6% increase in a recession?
In summary, Tesco's campaign is pure spin

Bottle_of_Smoke

givyjoe81 wrote: »

I would be very cautious due to your phrasing of the thread, i.e. 'prevent', The government shouldnt even dare think about 'preventing' (nor are they entitled to, EU-Free market) us from going up North, they should be incentivising us not too, as should retailers down here. Im sure that's what you meant (although you do say 'keep' us here too?!)

What about lowering the Vat rate for Christmas to the same as UK.

DublinWriter wrote:

There's nothing they can do - it's called the EU baby!

Ok I have a feeling you guys knew what I meant but just to clarify -
Yes, by "prevent" I meant incentivising shoppers to buy stuff in the 26 counties.

Good suggestions from Gurramok about alcohol. However I think there's other areas like electronics which could be motive alone. I saved the equivelent of approx €60 on a sony mp3 player last year - €220 in dublin, £140 in the UK.

So even if we got the booze down to the same level people would go up for offers like the above and while there get cheaper clothes etc as well.

Absurdum

mikemac wrote: »

Yep, as an example, in 2008 Tesco Kick (basically Red Bull) was 89c. They kicked it up to 99c and in early 2009 it was 1.27. Pre-Euro, £1 was €1.27.
Went to 99c in their change for good campaign a few months back and now it's €1.05, a 6% increase

6% increase in a recession?
In summary, Tesco's campaign is pure spin

another example: 500g bag of Tesco Fusili Pasta was 99c, went down to 49c, now back up to 99c

hellboy99

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Last year Lenihan admitted he made a mistake on vat which cost the economy millions.

Anyone heard if they're goign to do anything to keep shoppers in the 26 counties this year?

Probably going to do bugger all to be honest and just drive even more up north.

cavedave

They could build some sort of wall? The germans could advise us on how.

Kered75

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Anyone heard if they're goign to do anything to keep shoppers in the 26 counties this year? Or any ideas for things they should do?

Wait until they bring in a carbon tax this budget,fuel will be cheaper in the North too.

_Kooli_

crossmolinalad wrote: »

more wage cuts
more sw cuts
more taxes to pay
more more more from everything

so more people to the north

Increase any taxes and im off up the North for my Prezzies, booze, fags and a new LCD TV. For every € my taxes increase thats a € i have to save somewhere - the North.
Ive also thrown a few thousand into a UK banks account that i changed at 91p just to cover me for next years shopping too. Shopping trips up North will save me the few % interest im losing out on

Even food with no VAT is way cheaper up North too.
And with a carbon tax on Petrol, i'll be filling up North of the border too.

And any public servants ive spoken too feel the same - more so even. So they are off up North anyway since they are definitely going to be down in their pay packets.

If the shops quit this fake sale BS that they have going on and had proper sales maybe people might shop here.

Harpic

I'm not sure that the bozos in Government have a clue what to do.
It is estimated over 500 million has been lost to the economy this year.
They should have done something drastic at the time but it is too late now for Christmas.
I dont have a lot of sympathy anymore for the retailers in the South but I do feel sorry for their employees.

I reckon he will reduce VAT in the Budget??

irish_bob

while the benefits of heading north are clear for all to see , the drawbacks are more hidden , what you gain in savings , you loose out in some other form , not one job will be created or saved by shopping up north , state revenue will be lost which will result in reduced available public spending and thus further tax hikes will be nesscery , personally , unless i was facing ruin , i would not shop up north , retailers down here simply cannot compete with the north and the reasons are much greater than the present currency exchange , the local authority charges for business has actually increased in the past year , add to that the fact that we have the 2nd highest electricity costs in europe and southern retailers really have not a chance

we need to get rates down which will mean cutting civil servant wages
we need to get electricity costs down which will also mean cutting public servant ( ESB staff ) wages
we need to lower vat

doc_17

We're doomed!!!! Finna Fail haven't a clue. Twice in 20 years they've led us to financial catastrophe and still the fools that we are keep them in power! Maybe we should send them north and prevent them from coming back! As someone else said if they increase petrol/diesel in the budget then people will fill their cars up north when they do their weekly shopping, further weakening the tax take. The councils need to cut rates, the regulator needs to cut energy prices, the people need to speak out and the government need to get out and give us a government that can get things done.

MysticalRain

Sweet FA is the short answer. This is the same government that told us all to be "good Europeans" and vote for the Lisbon Treaty. They can't complain now when we embrace all those EU values of open markets and free movement of labour and goods.

skearon

crossmolinalad wrote: »

more wage cuts
more sw cuts
more taxes to pay
more more more from everything

so more people to the north

Apart from the carbon tax, he has stated there will be no new taxes.

More people going up North means less jobs, means less taxes and therefore less money for welfare and public pay.

If you have an ounce of patriotism, then shop in your own state, and assist in our Country's economic recovery.

The UK Government has admiited cutting their VAT rate was a mistake as the saving was not passed onto the consumer and is returning to 17.5% from January 1st.

mikemac

irish_bob wrote: »

while the benefits of heading north are clear for all to see ,

Eh, if you're in Kerry or Cork or tbh most of Munster, the benefits are not clear to see.
Not if you're spending €50 to €60 on fuel and you have interest in cheap booze or baby products.
You can't buy a few hours of your life back

hellboy99

skearon wrote: »

If you have an ounce of patriotism, then shop in your own state, and assist in our Country's economic recovery.

My patriotism is to my family first, the government are certainly not showing any patriotism to the thousands of Irish families trying to make ends meet.

Maybe if I had a job and it wasn't so expensive here I like many others would be able to shop here in the south, but for now I'm sticking with doing all my shopping up north as that's what I can afford and the savings I make help pay the bills.

Absurdum

Town and city chambers of commerce need to get together and come up with some meaningful proposals if they are to encourage shoppers to stay in the 26 counties. Reduced or free parking in town centres, special bus and train services (free or reduced prices) to take shoppers into towns or shopping centres, invest in Christmas lights/displays etc. to give a real Christmas feel! Most importantly they need retailers to make meaningful price reductions across the board, and get that message out. Maybe that means having to take a hit on their margins, or to push their suppliers but it's the only way. Too many of them are still living in 2005.

_Kooli_

skearon wrote: »

Apart from the carbon tax, he has stated there will be no new taxes.

More people going up North means less jobs, means less taxes and therefore less money for welfare and public pay.

If you have an ounce of patriotism, then shop in your own state, and assist in our Country's economic recovery.

The UK Government has admiited cutting their VAT rate was a mistake as the saving was not passed onto the consumer and is returning to 17.5% from January 1st.

Im not a patriot. Im a tax payer. Patriotism works both ways tbh. And i dont see any coming our way from the government.

Lets not forget that public sector workers and their families can shop up North too. So tax them and they will make the biggest group going up after the budget. Then next year it will be tax on the rest of us too.

We're even thinking of leaving the country for good at this point, never mind just shopping up north.

And as a previous poster has mentioned about overtime. We've given up doing overtime now too. Not worth it at the current tax rates. Rather have the time off. FF lose their half of it too.

skearon

hellboy99 wrote: »

My patriotism is to my family first, the government are certainly not showing any patriotism to the thousands of Irish families trying to make ends meet.

Maybe if I had a job and it wasn't so expensive here I like many others would be able to shop here in the south, but for now I'm sticking with doing all my shopping up north as that's what I can afford and the savings I make help pay the bills.

So put your family first, put your country first, and spend your money in your state.

Every euro lost to the UK, is one Euro lost of the State to pay for the services and/or welfare for 'the thousands of Irish familes trying to make ends meet.', not the mention the lost retail jobs in the South.

Open you eyes and see the big picture, prices are higher here because of excessive profits and highers costs. If you see something cheaper in the UK, they use that to bargin with a local retailer.

Absurdum

I'd also like to add that we need to investigate what and why costs are so much higher here for businesses - if indeed they are. I feel that a VAT reduction may not be passed on to the consumer in full; but the "feelgood factor" of it would make it worthwhile.

dresden8

Absurdum wrote: »

I feel that a VAT reduction may not be passed on to the consumer in full; but the "feelgood factor" of it would make it worthwhile.

McCreevy already cut vat and the thieving gits kept the difference. Vat subsequently returned to it's previous level.

Irish consumers have been taking a reaming from retailers down here for years and have now woken up.

skearon

mikemac wrote: »

41% tax
2% health levey
% not sure what PRSI is (and I'll be called a scrounger on boards if I ever go on the dole!)
1% income levy

Yep, that's almost half my overtime, but wait there is more

Foreign resident landlord so 20% deducted for tax
Employer pays for my cycle scheme so more tax (though possibly a tax saving)
Benefit in kind tax is paid
21% on everything I buy

And yet this isn't enough???
That is easily close to half my salary that is paying over 50% tax.

I'm sorry, not sure what more I can do

And if people continue to spend their Euros outside the state, more people will lose their jobs

Likewise, the more money spent within the State, the more likely you and others will still be in employment.

Cause and effect...

_Kooli_

skearon wrote: »

And if people continue to spend their Euros outside the state, more people will lose their jobs

Likewise, the more money spent within the State, the more likely you and others will still be in employment.

Cause and effect...

Your p!ssing into low cost northerly wind. Cause and effect.

skearon

_Kooli_ wrote: »

Your p!ssing into low cost northerly wind. Cause and effect.

No, I'm articulating sensible ideas to protect our children's future.