- July 11th, 2008, 10:30 am
#184767
A British court has decided for us all the question that has perplexed snack food fans for decades ....
In Big Win for P&G, Pringles Found to be ‘Not Potato Crisps’Click Here for Full Story
Posted by Ashby Jones
We’ve often wondered about Pringles, the chips that come neatly and unnaturally stacked in a can, but we’ve never had reason to question whether they’re actually potato chips. That is, until now.
On Friday, a British tax court ruled that Pringles are not, in fact, potato crisps — and therefore are not subject to Britain’s 17.5% sales tax. Here’s coverage from Bloomberg and Paul Caron’s TaxProf Blog. Click here for a copy of the opinion.
According to the Bloomberg story, most food in the U.K. is not taxable. The national tax office, however, had argued that Procter & Gamble’s Pringles fall into a category of taxable food for potato chips “and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch.”
But at a hearing in May, P&G’s lawyers claimed that Pringles don’t look, feel or taste like a regular potato chip (you’d get no argument from us on that). The lawyers also claimed the snack isn’t made like a chip since it is cooked from baked dough, not potato slices. According to the judgment, P&G’s lawyers had argued that potato chips “give a sharply crunchy sensation under the tooth and have to be broken down into jagged pieces when chewed.” A Pringle, they continued “is totally different . . . a Pringle is designed to melt down on the tongue.”




- By LU Armchair coach