VAT On Edible Straws

A recent article we have seen discussed the VAT treatment of edible straws. This illustrates how unnecesarilly complicated the UK tax system is.

The default position with VAT is that  standard rate VAT applies to all supplies made by a VAT registered business. Food is an exception and is zero rated.  Consequently a straw would generally be standard rated and food would be zero rated. The question then arises, what is the correct treatement of an edible straw.

The simple answer is, it depends. If the straw is marketed as a straw, which is edble then it would be standrad rated, whereas if it was an item of food which can be used as a straw, it would be zero rated.