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thewayneIt's like the German Beer Purity Laws, which I absolutely respect. Ireland has strict laws regulating what constitutes bread. Subway's "bread" (according to Irish law) has too much sugar, and cannot be called bread.
I guess it is a bread-like substance?
It all boils down to a VAT dispute, and the corp that owns Subway in Ireland says they shouldn't have to pay VAT on sandwiches that were sold as take-out.
To quote the article: "According to the Subway Ireland website, the chain's six-inch and footlong subs are available on six different kinds of bread, including nine-grain multi-seed, Italian white bread, Italian herbs and cheese, nine-grain wheat, hearty Italian, and honey oat. And, according to the country's Supreme Court, all six varieties are too sugary to legally be called "bread" at all.
The court case itself is a slightly confusing one unless you're well versed in Irish tax policies, but it started when a Subway franchise owner challenged the tax authorities' decision not to issue a refund for value-added tax (VAT) on some takeout foods. Galway-based Bookfinders LTD said that it shouldn't have to pay VAT on hot coffee and tea, or on the hot sandwiches that weren't eaten inside the restaurant.
Its argument was that since the sandwiches contain bread, they should be considered a "staple food" and shouldn't be taxed. But the five Supreme Court judges countered by suggesting that those sandwiches aren't served on "bread" at all, at least not under the "statutory definition of bread."
According to the Irish Independent, the judges ruled that Subway's bread is not a staple food because its sugar content is 10 percent of the weight of the flour in the dough; the Value-Added Tax Act 1972 stipulates that sugar, fat, and "bread improver" cannot add up to more than 2 percent of the weight of the flour. (Those limits are in place to prevent things like pastries and other sweet baked goods from being labeled as "staple foods" and exempt from being taxed.)
Justice Donal O'Donnell dismissed Bookfinders' appeal on Tuesday, although he did acknowledge that some of the arguments presented on their behalf were "ingenious." An Appeal Commissioner also said that Subway's hot sandwiches were not eligible for a zero-percent tax rate, so Bookfinders was doubly denied."
ROFL!
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/subway-bread-sugar-content-ireland-court-ruling
I guess it is a bread-like substance?
It all boils down to a VAT dispute, and the corp that owns Subway in Ireland says they shouldn't have to pay VAT on sandwiches that were sold as take-out.
To quote the article: "According to the Subway Ireland website, the chain's six-inch and footlong subs are available on six different kinds of bread, including nine-grain multi-seed, Italian white bread, Italian herbs and cheese, nine-grain wheat, hearty Italian, and honey oat. And, according to the country's Supreme Court, all six varieties are too sugary to legally be called "bread" at all.
The court case itself is a slightly confusing one unless you're well versed in Irish tax policies, but it started when a Subway franchise owner challenged the tax authorities' decision not to issue a refund for value-added tax (VAT) on some takeout foods. Galway-based Bookfinders LTD said that it shouldn't have to pay VAT on hot coffee and tea, or on the hot sandwiches that weren't eaten inside the restaurant.
Its argument was that since the sandwiches contain bread, they should be considered a "staple food" and shouldn't be taxed. But the five Supreme Court judges countered by suggesting that those sandwiches aren't served on "bread" at all, at least not under the "statutory definition of bread."
According to the Irish Independent, the judges ruled that Subway's bread is not a staple food because its sugar content is 10 percent of the weight of the flour in the dough; the Value-Added Tax Act 1972 stipulates that sugar, fat, and "bread improver" cannot add up to more than 2 percent of the weight of the flour. (Those limits are in place to prevent things like pastries and other sweet baked goods from being labeled as "staple foods" and exempt from being taxed.)
Justice Donal O'Donnell dismissed Bookfinders' appeal on Tuesday, although he did acknowledge that some of the arguments presented on their behalf were "ingenious." An Appeal Commissioner also said that Subway's hot sandwiches were not eligible for a zero-percent tax rate, so Bookfinders was doubly denied."
ROFL!
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/subway-bread-sugar-content-ireland-court-ruling
