Photo by Siomuzzz/Flickr CC
Ah, the British. So ahead of us in so many ways. A British court has ruled that Pringles have enough potato in them to qualify as crisps (translation: potato chips) and, therefore, are subject to a Value Added Tax of 15%. Procter & Gamble, the maker of Pringles, argued against the tax. Pringles, it says, are not crisps. Why? Because their shape and packaging are "not found in nature." Tough, said the court. Pringles are 42% potato. That's enough to qualify them as crisps. Under the law, crisps get taxed.
Pringles are 42% potato? OK, but what else do they contain? Here's the ingredient list: DRIED POTATOES, VEGETABLE OIL, RICE FLOUR, WHEAT STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, SALT AND DEXTROSE. CONTAINS WHEAT INGREDIENTS. (You will be relieved to note: No artificial ingredients. No preservatives.)
Hey: potatoes are the first ingredient! I say tax 'em.
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Potatoes would be the first ingredient in pre-made potato gnocchi, too; is it subject to this VAT, too? Do you think it should be?
Did you know that there are potato chips with caffeine and taurine as ingredients? Oh, yeah. It's real.
lFor example,NRG potato chips contains 350 milligrams of caffeine per 3.5 oz. bag. By consuming just 300 milligrams caffeine, you become 3 times more likely to have hallucinations, hear voices, need a psych exam. Taurine synthesized in the body and found in most energy drinks, is an organic acid related to bile found in the lower intestine. Oh, yum-yum. It has not been proven to have any endurance or energy benefits and while produced synthetically now, is still sometimes derived from cow urine. Another yummy.
Ethic Soup blog has a great article on how caffine is an ingredient in more and more foods and drinks at:
http://www.ethicsoup.com/2009/02/caffeine-is-in-everything-how-much-is-in-you.html#more
"(You will be relieved to note: No artificial ingredients. No preservatives.)"
Maybe not in the original flavor, but many of the other Pringles flavors contain partially hydrogenated ingredients. Yucky.
http://www.pringles.com/pages/products/nutrition_sourcream.html
Tax 'em! Tax 'em high, tax 'em low! Tax 'em for the ground they stand on and the air they breathe and the Pringles they eat.!
How else can we can we pay for the burgeoning bundle of bucks PresO and the Gang are spending now on whatever so that one day we can all spend more again?
Lawmakers, God bless 'em, once elected want to stay lawmakers, pass more laws so they will be voted in again and stay lawmakers lifelong. But darned if these laws don't require more tax revenues, bad enough during the good times, but disastrous during the bad times.
Sounds to me a lot like what the Queen would have said to the wondering Alice!