Should even printers be closed in the lockdown ?

[Justin Smith]

Moderator note: Split from “Rail Atlas Great Britain & Ireland (15th Edition)”

I've just phoned up the publishers (I assume Crecy are the publishers ? ) and a helpful lady there told me the edition is all set to go but printing of it is being delayed by this Coronavirus shutdown. Why the Coronavirus should delay a book being published and distributed when supermarkets (and their supply chains) are still operating I do not know, we wouldn't have won the war with an attitude like that !
I, or more accurately my wife, has had the atlas on order since well before Xmas with repeated delays advised by Amazon. She kept asking me if I wanted to swap for something else but I do want the atlas (I have half a dozen editions stretching back to 1980) so wanted to stick with it. And it looks like my (and others...) patience will shortly be rewarded ! Hopefully late May early June.

 

[pdeaves]

Why the Coronavirus should delay a book being published and distributed

It may be that the printer company has stopped work.

 

[theblackwatch]

It does surprise me people don't think that printing and distribution firms are affected by the coronavirus. I know of onebpublisher who was producing a pair of titles last month - only one of them has appeared as, to quote "The printers have advised that due to shortages of staff, it will NOT be possible to produce both". Similarly, subscription copies of Railway Magazine were delayed by a few days in distribution last month, this was what they said: "This stems from the late collection of printed copies because of self-isolation staff at the delivery co as a result of the Covid-19 situation. In addition they have been supporting additional vital NHS supply deliveries."

I would like to believe the Rail Atlas is ready to go to press, although I'm not sure if I do!

 

[Justin Smith]

It does surprise me people don't think that printing and distribution firms are affected by the coronavirus. I know of onebpublisher who was producing a pair of titles last month - only one of them has appeared as, to quote "The printers have advised that due to shortages of staff, it will NOT be possible to produce both". Similarly, subscription copies of Railway Magazine were delayed by a few days in distribution last month, this was what they said: "This stems from the late collection of printed copies because of self-isolation staff at the delivery co as a result of the Covid-19 situation. In addition they have been supporting additional vital NHS supply deliveries."

I would like to believe the Rail Atlas is ready to go to press, although I'm not sure if I do!

Without wishing to side line this thread, the fact is that pretty much the whole of the supermarket trade in this country is still functioning, despite having to adapt the way their shops deal with customers, we'll pass on just how effective and or necessary the various procedures are.
My own business, selling aerials, clamps and poles etc is still going pretty much as normal. We have decided to only operate mail order, but as much as anything that was to make sure we didn't get unwelcome attention from "the old bill" if they'd decided to try and exceed their brief as it were. The great majority of our suppliers are working more or less normally, though some have furloughed some staff. I'm sorry but I can see no reason why a printer shouldn't be able to print. Call me a cynic, but it may be because the printers have assumed they'd be getting less work, or that proved to be the case, so they decided to take advantage of the government's offer to pay 80% of the wages of furloughed staff and shut down when they didn't really need to.

 

[Darandio]

Without wishing to side line this thread, the fact is that pretty much the whole of the supermarket trade in this country is still functioning, despite having to adapt the way their shops deal with customers, we'll pass on just how effective and or necessary the various procedures are.

Supermarkers are essential to keep the country going. An atlas for a rail enthusiast isn't.

 

[Justin Smith]

Supermarkers are essential to keep the country going. An atlas for a rail enthusiast isn't.

A rail atlas might not be essential to the running of this country, but the taxes generated by producing and selling it very much are.
And with that, if anyone wants to continue this, it should probably be in the relevant thread.

 

[Ianno87]

A rail atlas might not be essential to the running of this country, but the taxes generated by producing and selling it very much are.

You could say exactly the same for Casinos, Theme Parks, Trendy Wine Bars, etc...

 

[Mcr Warrior]

A rail atlas might not be essential to the running of this country, but the taxes generated by producing and selling it very much are.

Are books in the UK subject to VAT?

 

[Darandio]

A rail atlas might not be essential to the running of this country, but the taxes generated by producing and selling it very much are.
And with that, if anyone wants to continue this, it should probably be in the relevant thread.

Sales of printed books, newspapers and magazines are exempt from VAT. So no, still not essential.

 

[Justin Smith]

Supermarkers are essential to keep the country going. An atlas for a rail enthusiast isn't.

Sales of printed books, newspapers and magazines are exempt from VAT. So no, still not essential.

It isn’t just the VAT on the sale, it’s the tax on the production of the item, including the tax on the wages of people employed doing so. Furthermore, at the moment, many those not working are claiming government furlough payments (or other benefits) which is costing the country an absolute fortune. Obviously any company still working, even if they’re making a bit less money than usual, is saving us all large amounts of tax.

As for the comment about casinos wine bars etc you are totally correct, the fact they’ve all been shut down is costing us all a massive amount of money in lost taxes and furlough payments though such businesses obviously have almost insurmountable problems as regards social distancing. I wouldn’t have thought a printer had insurmountable problems with that….. My own business (online mail order sales of poles, clamps and aerials) has been operating right through albeit with reduced staffing. I hope all you taxpayers are grateful how much money we’ve saved you !

General point : a crashed economy will cost us all massive amounts, including, ironically, more deaths in the medium / long term from less well funded health and social services, plus loads more poverty. It’s a no win situation, hard choices are required but the politicians aren’t leading, they’re just burying their heads in the sand and hoping things get better, somehow…..

 

[Scotty]

What also can affect the printing of books/magazines, is that some are also printed abroad. The transportation of them to the UK will therefore be affected too.

Online sales of magazines have gone up.

 

[underbank]

Sales of printed books, newspapers and magazines are exempt from VAT. So no, still not essential.

VAT rates have never been determined by whether it's "essential" or not. The word "essential" is not part of VAT legislation in any way. Lots of "essential" things carry full rate VAT. Lots of non essentials are VAT free.

 

[underbank]

Call me a cynic, but it may be because the printers have assumed they'd be getting less work, or that proved to be the case, so they decided to take advantage of the government's offer to pay 80% of the wages of furloughed staff and shut down when they didn't really need to.

You're not cynical. That's exactly what has happened. I'm an accountant and have a high number of clients who had already decided to close even before lockdown was announced, because they'd seen the business support incentives the week before in The Budget and more in subsequent days. They closed "in anticipation" of reduced sales, not because of them. They genuinely thought it was just a very short term problem and would be back to normal in a few weeks. Most are now tentatively re-opening again, some having seen how their competition were closed for far shorter periods of time (some never closed) and realised they're missing some of the action from customers who are out there wanting to buy.

Hate to say it, but the business support for SOME businesses was far too generous for some, and pathetically inadequate for others. Loads of businesses got the £10k business rates grant that didn't need it and havn't been badly affected by Covid at all. At the same time, other businesses got nothing who needed it more. Unfortunately just another example of knee jerk reaction from the civil servants in HMRC and Treasury with very fixed views on what they perceived to be "worthy" and who they've wanted to kick for years (i.e. small limited company directors). The support packages have more holes than Swiss cheese!