quotes and questions

[melclaros <melclaros@yahoo.com>]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "pengolodh_sc 
<pengolodh_sc at y...>" <pengolodh_sc at y...> wrote:
"...the infamous UK Jaffa Cake case. Biscuits and cakes are 
considered a necessity by UK law and are zero rated. Chocolate 
covered biscuits however are a luxury and subject to VAT at 17.5%. 
McVities and HM Customs & Excise argued over whether the Jaffa Cake 
was a cake (no VAT) or a chocolate biscuit (lots of VAT). The 
argument had to be taken to a Tribunal (kind of like a court) to be 
resolved. In the end McVities baked a 12" Jaffa Cake which convinced 
the Tribunal Chairman of the general cakeiness of the Jaffa Cake." 
According to the page in The Guardian linked at the second page, the 
outcome of the trial also depended on the fact that Jaffa Cakes 
become hard when they go stale. Since cakes become hard when they go 
stale, and biscuits become soft when they go stale, Jaffa Cakes were 
ruled by the VAT Tribunal to be legally cakes (while I believe that 
in at least some dialects of the English language (such dialects that 
are not necessarily found on the British Isles themselves, nor the 
same hemisphere), it would be quite linguistically correct - if not 
legally so - to say that HM Customs & Excise is - has gone - 
crackers?). 


LOL! This sounds exactly like something from the Ministry of Magic! 
Remember the Cauldron Bottoms report! And we yanks wonder where JKR 
gets these wacky ideas from!


Of course, the Reagan administration's Ketchup blunder is a good on 
too, but nothing like this *Case of the Jaffa Cakes*!

Melpomene