Airlines 'fail to refund taxes' says Which?
in [UK Air Travel]
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From: tim.... on 11 Jul 2010 08:35 "Buddenbrooks" <knightstemplar(a)budweiser.com> wrote in message news:ADc_n.156647$tH4.124811(a)hurricane... > > "Roland Perry" <roland(a)perry.co.uk> wrote in message > news:8rbc$HX7NOOMFAPV(a)perry.co.uk... >> In message <slrni3hf0k.828.no_one_you_know(a)corv.local>, at 18:29:40 on > > Ticket price 15,00 >> Booking fee 10,00 >> Fuel surcharge 60,00 >> Passenger service charge 14,52 >> Passenger service charge 14,47 >> Security charge 12,94 >> UK air passenger duty 12,69 >> >> Arguably, if we don't fly we should also get the fuel surcharge back... >> (I'll allow them to keep the ticket price and booking fee). > > > A lot of things you are committed to buy at the time of ordering. I > normally take the advanced booking without cancel option for hotels. > It is usually significantly cheaper and covers the risk of not going one > the date. > > When I fail to go, I do not get a refund. A Hotel room is actually costed > by the hotel as > > > Booking fee > Overhead Costs (Cost of running hotel divided by actual room nights > booked per annum) > Daily Room Service charge ( making bed etc) > Linen charge (change of linen, soap etc between bookings) > Tourist tax > VAT > > The last two are money taken, but not passed on, only the first two > still cost the hotel if you do not arrive. That's not right, VAT is charged (and handed over) on monies invoiced, so they don't get to keep it. tim
From: semiretired on 11 Jul 2010 11:43 On Jul 11, 8:31 am, "Buddenbrooks" wrote: > "Graham Harrison" wrote >>I think you'll find the VAT is passed on, but other taxes are an >>interesting thought............................... >I am not certain, one could argue that as nothing had occurred >to have value attached then VAT cannot apply. This is arrant piffle. Argue as you like, The liability of a hotel to the VAT authorities is the appropriate proportion of sales of all items which are neither exempt nor zero rated. With VAT at 17.5pc this works out at (100-(100/1.175))pc or very nearly 15pc of standard rated sales. The hotel has to send this amount to the VAT office less any that has already been paid to suppliers.
From: Buddenbrooks on 11 Jul 2010 12:04 <semiretired(a)my-deja.com> wrote in message news:d5e693b8-42e9-4d1c-97af-03d5e950a9c4(a)i28g2000yqa.googlegroups.com... On Jul 11, 8:31 am, "Buddenbrooks" wrote: >I am not certain, one could argue that as nothing had occurred >to have value attached then VAT cannot apply. >This is arrant piffle. >Argue as you like, I took the bother of looking up the rule. As the hotel is not refunding it makes no difference but: If the booking was for 1 to 28 nights the hotel must forward the VAT in the normal way. If the booking was for longer than 28 days the hotel has no liability to pass any VAT on.
From: Steve on 11 Jul 2010 12:09 "Roland Perry" <roland(a)perry.co.uk> wrote in message news:8rbc$HX7NOOMFAPV(a)perry.co.uk... > In message <slrni3hf0k.828.no_one_you_know(a)corv.local>, at 18:29:40 on > Sat, 10 Jul 2010, pete <no_one_you_know(a)notthisaddress.com> remarked: >>> It is a green tax to discourage booking flights, so whether you fly or >>> not >>> is irrelevant. >>> >>If it's a tax (whether paid incorrectly or not), surely it should be >>passed on to our lords and masters, not kept by the collecting >>organisation. >>Sounds like fraud to me. > > Agreed. The airlines should come clean whether or not they pay all the > tax they've collected to the government, or whether they only pay tax > for those who eventually fly. > > I have never heard them say "we can't give refunds because we've paid > all the tax to the government whether you flew or not". Which seems to > me to be a bit of a hint. > > And it's not just the government tax, my last flight had all sort of > other things. Should we have a refunds for those if we don't fly? > > Ticket price 15,00 > Booking fee 10,00 > Fuel surcharge 60,00 > Passenger service charge 14,52 > Passenger service charge 14,47 > Security charge 12,94 > UK air passenger duty 12,69 > > Arguably, if we don't fly we should also get the fuel surcharge back... > (I'll allow them to keep the ticket price and booking fee). If you don't fly, then the fuel surcharge, passenger service charge, security charge and air duty should be refunded. As you usually don't end up getting checked by security, served by the airline, your mass + luggage isn't carried by the aircraft and the airline is not liable for the departure tax.
From: Buddenbrooks on 11 Jul 2010 12:21
<semiretired(a)my-deja.com> wrote in message news:6e8bc1a4-2920-4241-954c-90e959b4ccd9(a)k39g2000yqb.googlegroups.com... >The "cost of cleaning a room" is highly notional. >Linen will be charged as used, but staff can >not be treated as a resource which can be >completely switched "off" at quiet times. In the end a bussiness must understand its costs, even if the metrics are contrived. Department stores will look at revenue per sq metre. If a hotel does not put a cost to each of its activities then it has no mechanism other than total income and total expenditure, which is a rather course tool. As for room cleaning, the number of staff and hours offered will change as occupancy rates vary. Generally through giving overtime or not. Hotels are very dynamic, it shows in their prices. I tried to book a room in Poznan a couple of years back, the climate conference was on and I was quoted E360 for a twin room. I am looking to go again in December this year, the quote from the same Hotel is E25. You can be certain that the staff payrole for the week they are charging E25 is a lot less than when the higher charge applied. |