When is a crisp not a crisp...?

You realise that here in London we take things VERY seriously?



There is no time for dallying about and talking about the weather - there are important legal matters to be considered and debated and resolved - and this week was just such a week for deliberation!

Yes, friends, this week we discovered that Pringles (those odd shaped snacks in the tube with the round faced bloke and the moustache) are in fact CRISPS! Well, who would have thought?

It appears that the manufacturer, Procter and Gamble, got themselves into a bit of a spat with Her Majesty's Tax man, and the two parties have been fighting about this for some time. And like all red blooded disputes - the issue is around money (though if it were about LOVE, it would be far more personable...)

But the key is VAT. You see VAT has to be paid over to the Tax Man on crisps, but not on several other foods. Until this Wednesday, Pringles were in fact "more like a cake or biscuit" (oh yes - I always have a Pringle with my tea - occasionally dunking a salty one!)

But the Court of Appeal ruled this Wednesday that even though the product contained only 42% potato content, this still constituted sufficient "potato-iness" (whatever the "essence of potato" is, to make it a crisp, and this Procter and Gamble need to pay VAT on their sales to Liz's tax men...

Yes, here in England we are on the cutting edge of the big issues... Thank goodness someone studied for so many years to be able to come to this remarkable decision.