They tax EVERYTHING in GB. You wouldn’t believe the cost of a pint of bitter and a pack of smokes.
I can remember when I lived there the dreaded “TV License Van” fairy tale they would tell people. Apparently (and I think fabricated), they had vans that would detect if someone had a TV in their home. Then they would get a knock on the door. I kid you not. Used to scare people into paying for (Anti-American) “Aunty Beeb”. It’s like us being forced to pay for PBS.....and all its propaganda.
BTW, they have a VAT there, too. At the time it was 17.5%. Be CAREFUL when people wish for the same here.
Last trip through London, a pint was $14/American. That was 2006. I don't smoke, so can't tell you how much those were......
$14 for a pint of WARM beer. Blecch.
Ah! The TV Detectng Van.
Now I know where Monty Python’s Cat Detectng Van came from.
That is why, at least the last time I was there, they often drink Bud in the lessor pubs. I kid you not. Bud was cheaper than the home beer..except they call it lager there.
I forget what I drank there now, I think it was tenents-or something like that. But it caused the proper effect after a few pints.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom#Detection_technology
The Detector Vans are still somewhat of a mystery.
Tell me about it. I lived there for a year in the late eighties. The cost of living was about 1/3 more than it cost me to live in Los Angeles.
Not a fairy tale.
LO leakage from the TV can be received from outside the home. The LO leakage frequency indicates what channel the TV is tuned to. It would get difficult identifying the specific room in high density housing but hey, they don’t need a warrant and can go door to door to investigate...
>> they had vans that would detect if someone had a TV in their home.
Monty Python’s sketch —a man says he has a license for his pet cat and is told at the post office he doesn’t need one.
Cleese: The man from the cat detector van.
Palin: Looney detector van, you mean.
Cleese: It’s people like you what causes unrest...I never seen so many aerials in my life. The man told me their equipment could pinpoint a purr at 400 yards.
And Eric, being such a happy cat, was a piece of cake.