The vat vexation

I had been to this eatery several times. This time though I experienced a befuddled double take when the bill arrived. The Tk 540 bill, including cold drinks, had magically transformed itself into a puffed up Tk. 621 outrage. When I inquired about the inflated amount, the response from the waiter was that the extra was VAT, more specifically, Saifur Rahman's VAT. This VAT monstrosity has raised it's ugly head and has now spread the tentacles in the cooked food sector. This makes a pleasant eating experience somewhat distasteful. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

The US public, especially significant strand of tax rebels and resisters, has always opposed the VAT fiend. It is a dubious way for the government to make incredible amount of money on the back of grumbling but pliant and yielding citizens. It is very common in Europe and Japan. The result is evident for all to see. While the US economy has been a job making dynamic machine, hardly any jobs have been created in Europe in over 20 years and Japan has been in a perpetual downturn for over a decade.

All this hypothesising is for the unanticipated and exceedingly irritating buffet VAT!