Reply to: National Insurance

[DonkeyRhubarb]

NI growth 5 times income tax

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8602988.stm

Calling it Labour's "favourite stealth tax", the Tories say they have calculated that the revenue the Treasury received from NI had risen by 22% in real terms since 2001-02 - five times the growth in income tax receipts over the same period.

[centurian]

As I understand it Scottish bank issued notes are NOT legal tender in the rest of the UK, however they are regarded as Acceptable Currency and can be accepted if a trader wishes to. A trader has no obligation to accept Scots banknotes in England or Wales as payment for goods, but they are obliged to accept Bank of England notes if they're in decent condition.

The term Legal Tender is widely misunderstood.

Scotish banknotes are not even legal tender in Scotland. Scotland has no legal tender, only acceptable tender.

In short legal tender means a trader must accept it as payment.

[fckvwls]

It's a total waste of your time and brain power to try and convey a point to AtW. He's a troll pure and simple and will always try to wind you up rather than debate in an intelligent manner.

That must be about 1000 posts now complaining re AtW.

It's boring.

HTH

[Sysman]

Businesses are allowed to make their own terms on what payment forms they can take.

For example ex-building societies refuse to allow people to change/deposit loads of small change with them as they don't have the storage space.

But there is also a legal definition from the Coinage Act 1971 which is what I was thinking of.

In the 19th century, gold coins were legal tender to any amount, silver coins were not legal tender for sums over 2 pounds, nor bronze for sums over 1 shilling.

This provision was retained in revised form at the introduction of decimal currency, and the Coinage Act 1971 laid down that coins denominated above 10 pence became legal tender for payment not exceeding 10 pounds, coins denominated not more than 10 pence became legal tender for payment not exceeding 5 pounds, and bronze coins became legal tender for payment not exceeding 20 pence.

Also businesses where I was brought up in London use to refuse to take £50 notes due to the amount of forgeries going around. Some idiots would then start shouting in the shop because they couldn't believe that a well-known chain could refuse to take them.

I remember a BBC reporter going out and about in London the first day £50 notes were out and trying to spend one. It made an amusing report. His first attempt at spending it was with a taxi driver who said he'd take it if the reporter was happy to take a cheque for the change.

Conversely, my local bus company stopped giving change for bus fares back in the 1970s, as part of the introduction of one man buses. This was a pain in the neck in my first permie job as buses only ran every half hour (and that was when they weren't striking).

[SueEllen]

I believe there are also rules about paying large amounts with piddly small change. This came out when someone tried paying a bill they objected to in pennies, and got refused.

Businesses are allowed to make their own terms on what payment forms they can take.

For example ex-building societies refuse to allow people to change/deposit loads of small change with them as they don't have the storage space.

Also businesses where I was brought up in London use to refuse to take £50 notes due to the amount of forgeries going around. Some idiots would then start shouting in the shop because they couldn't believe that a well-known chain could refuse to take them.

[Sysman]

The term Legal Tender is widely misunderstood.

I believe there are also rules about paying large amounts with piddly small change. This came out when someone tried paying a bill they objected to in pennies, and got refused.

[DonkeyRhubarb]

For AtW

A=100
B=10

A increases to 105 (by 5%)
B increases to 15 (by 50%)

How much faster has B increased relative to A?

My Answer

B has increased at 10 times the rate of A (50%/5%)

Yours Answer?

[shaunbhoy]

As I understand it Scottish bank issued notes are NOT legal tender in the rest of the UK, however they are regarded as Acceptable Currency and can be accepted if a trader wishes to. A trader has no obligation to accept Scots banknotes in England or Wales as payment for goods, but they are obliged to accept Bank of England notes if they're in decent condition.

The term Legal Tender is widely misunderstood.

Fair enough, sounds plausible. On the odd occasion I get back up there I tend to try and get shot of any Scottish ones before heading south just to avoid the hassle anyway. Seldom a problem in my case as Mrs SB is remarkably good at ensuring I am left operating with few if any notes of any denomination.

[SueEllen]

If they are not legal tender wtf are they allowed to be in circulation there? It's either legal tender or in other words genuine banknote, or it is fake.

You can spend them in England.

It depends where you go. I've seen shops in London take them.

It's a hassle if you are in the supermarket queue after the person who has the Scottish bank notes as they have to get a supervisor over and depending on the supervisor it's either "yah"or "neh".

One reason most shops don't take them is that they don't know if they are forged. They have enough trouble with normal bank notes.

The only notes they don't have to consider taking at all in mainland UK are notes from Northern Ireland.

[TykeMerc]

Is that correct though? I always thought they were legal?
A scottish mate of mine used to always make sure that when he came down to england he had plenty of scottish pound notes. The number of times he was given change of a fiver was unbelievable.

As I understand it Scottish bank issued notes are NOT legal tender in the rest of the UK, however they are regarded as Acceptable Currency and can be accepted if a trader wishes to. A trader has no obligation to accept Scots banknotes in England or Wales as payment for goods, but they are obliged to accept Bank of England notes if they're in decent condition.

The term Legal Tender is widely misunderstood.

[AtW]

Presumably because Scottish notes are not legal tender.

If they are not legal tender wtf are they allowed to be in circulation there? It's either legal tender or in other words genuine banknote, or it is fake.

[shaunbhoy]

Presumably because Scottish notes are not legal tender.

Is that correct though? I always thought they were legal?
A scottish mate of mine used to always make sure that when he came down to england he had plenty of scottish pound notes. The number of times he was given change of a fiver was unbelievable.

[TykeMerc]

Presumably because Scottish notes are not legal tender. Banks here accept them though, so I always hand them over in a bank when I am left with a bunch of them.

There are banks in Gaul? No wonder Julius Caesar was so keen to finish them off.

[fullyautomatix]

Once. On my way to job interview in Dundee - I was glad to get out from there before the last train to mainland, I took taxi to the train station in order to make it and thought the taxi driver was trying to give me dodgy fake banknotes - it was my first time when I had Scottish fiver, it was refused to be accepted in England

Why?

Presumably because Scottish notes are not legal tender. Banks here accept them though, so I always hand them over in a bank when I am left with a bunch of them.

[AtW]

Alexei have you ever been in Glasgow?

Once. On my way to job interview in Dundee - I was glad to get out from there before the last train to mainland, I took taxi to the train station in order to make it and thought the taxi driver was trying to give me dodgy fake banknotes - it was my first time when I had Scottish fiver, it was refused to be accepted in England

Why?