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Ireland’s Supreme Court has ruled that bread from the international fast food chain Subway can’t legally be called bread under Irish tax law. The problem? Subway’s bread simply has too much sugar and must be considered a “confectionary.”
The ruling, first reported by Ireland’s Independent and available online through the Republic of Ireland’s Supreme Court website, was delivered on Tuesday and is incredibly dense reading. The court noted that Subway’s bread has a sugar content of roughly 10% of the flour’s weight. The amount of sugar in the dough would need to be 2% of the flour’s weight to be considered “bread” under Irish tax law.
The case made its way to the Supreme Court because Subway’s Irish franchisee, a company called Bookfinders, was trying to argue that it shouldn’t have to pay Ireland’s national sales tax, known as a “value-added tax” (VAT) in Europe. Staple foods like bread and milk are exempt from the tax, but non-essential foods that have been prepared, along with anything considered “discretionary indulgences” as the court ruling phrased it, are taxed. That would mean things like ice cream and potato chips are taxed under the law as currently written, but it left open the question of whether a sandwich at Subway was an indulgence...................
gizmodo.com
The ruling, first reported by Ireland’s Independent and available online through the Republic of Ireland’s Supreme Court website, was delivered on Tuesday and is incredibly dense reading. The court noted that Subway’s bread has a sugar content of roughly 10% of the flour’s weight. The amount of sugar in the dough would need to be 2% of the flour’s weight to be considered “bread” under Irish tax law.
The case made its way to the Supreme Court because Subway’s Irish franchisee, a company called Bookfinders, was trying to argue that it shouldn’t have to pay Ireland’s national sales tax, known as a “value-added tax” (VAT) in Europe. Staple foods like bread and milk are exempt from the tax, but non-essential foods that have been prepared, along with anything considered “discretionary indulgences” as the court ruling phrased it, are taxed. That would mean things like ice cream and potato chips are taxed under the law as currently written, but it left open the question of whether a sandwich at Subway was an indulgence...................
Irish Supreme Court Says Subway Bread Can't Legally Be Called Bread Under Tax Law
Ireland’s Supreme Court has ruled that bread from the international fast food chain Subway can’t legally be called bread under Irish tax law. The problem? Subway’s bread simply has too much sugar and must be considered a “confectionary.”
gizmodo.com
