I noticed something very odd on my recent move to the UK from Australia. It wasn’t the heat wave. Or the revolving door of prime ministers. (We’re used to both.) Instead it was the massive, humming refrigerators located next to the entrances of apparently every cafe and grocery store in the UK, offering a bewildering array of freshly-packed ‘meal deals’.

At first I assumed this must reflect the time-poor London luncher. Who has time to sit down and eat a meal when trying to navigate tube strikes on an e-bike? But then I checked my receipt. Ordering a refrigerated meal to take-away immediately knocked 20 per cent off the purchase price compared to dining-in.

A quick consultation of the UK’s 23,522-page tax code (apparently the longest in the world) quickly confirmed my suspicion

A quick consultation of the UK’s 23,522-page tax code (apparently the longest in the world) quickly confirmed my suspicion

A quick consultation of the UK’s 23,522-page tax code (apparently the longest in the world) quickly confirmed my suspicion. “Cold takeaway” meals are subject to zero per cent VAT, while cold meals consumed in the vendor’s “designated eating area” are subject to the full 20 per cent VAT rate.

On one level, this was a mildly pleasing way to save money on lunch; on another, my economist brain immediately started calculating........

© The Spectator