BAYKO and Purchase Tax

Most countries on the planet have some sort of taxation on the value of things which are sold to the general public. Purchase Tax, in the United Kingdom, was just such a tax.

Across the E.U. today, Value Added Tax, is levied equally on goods sold and also on services offered and so is distinct from, and, indeed, in the U.K. actually replaced, Purchase Tax.

Historically there had been other flirtations with such taxes, but world war 2 produced the Temporary Purchase Tax Act (1940) which introduced 3 different rates of Purchase Tax - 11%, 16% and 27.5% - it was the ?% rate which applied to BAYKO and to all other toys sold in the U.K. The initial impact of this tax, introduced on April 6th, 1940 would have been masked somewhat by the general inflation pressures brought on by wartime shortages.

As an interesting aside, BAYKO Manuals, when sold separately, were exempt from Purchase Tax, taking advantage of a long established piece of British social engineering under which books, newspapers, pamphlets, etc., were tax free to avoid the political accusation of "taxing education".

More to follow as soon as I can get the information out of storage where it has been put 'for safe keeping' while we go through the trauma of doing the house up, selling it and moving!

Salford, 2002
'Daily Telegraph'
Property Section