Lotus parts day (fallorn hope!)

[shynsy]

@atthelimit

I

Very very true. Definitely a risk

[bvt]

Ok here is my 2p worth on Ebay and Lotus Parts…
My first Lotus parts fair was actually in some sports hall or similar way back in the 80s seats £50 each or door frames £50 each - which to buy!!!
However i also worked for HMRC and the whole topic of tax and Private vs Business crops up again and again…
If you are selling our own personal posessions there is no doubt that there is no tax to pay… as in Antiques or such that you have used or held with the intention of using..
But if you regularly brought and sold antiques then there is tax to pay as the intention when buying is to sell for a proffit…
If you brought lots of parts many many years ago, it can be argued that you were buying to keep your vehicle on the road for many years after production stopped… but if it can be shown that you still brought ad sold parts over the years then again you are a business… An arguement against this would be you had perhaps aquired parts that were NOS or better condition and were selling off unwanted parts.. But even in doing so… you would need to produce a car to show why you were holding the parts…

It would all be down to the case put forward and the volumes of sales - teh money aspect is not really a determining factor just a stake in the ground… as selling a car or or anyting of value would push most sellers over the threshold…
The people HMRC want to catch are the people who buy 00s of things from China and sell as a private seller or the person who runs a business and yet sells his manufactued parts through Ebay as a Private seller… I helped a guy who let his son use his Ebay account to sell stuff no realising he was doing just that, an then found HE was banned for life from Ebay due to HMRC chasing his son for tax not paid on those sales…

But also think about it how many people will pass the £1850 threshold? I don’t see a huge recruitment drive for HMRC looking for staff to take on all these cases!!!

The situation is very similar to something known as IR35 where HMRC targetted Contract Staff (mainly IT ones) who were running 1 man Ltd Service companies and thus avoiding huge tax bills being able to off set everything possible as a business… HMRC waded in heavy handed saying “You are not a worker from a service company you are an Employee of the company using that service company simply as a mechanism to avoid tax/NI” but many big legal cases forced HMRC to qualify their stance e.g. you have a permanent desk, you are in the staff phone diectory, you use the company equipment etc etc… but they were often counter arguements, staff had different colour passes service company staff id not get discounts offered to permanent staff etc etc…
So while there is a great uproar and a few will get tax bills like most they will quiver in their boots and simply pay where as someone will say “NO! these are my own personal goods I am not liable for tax” and someone will take up the case..

[tonyabacus]

Atthelimit
Tried to get on your website, but it appears not to be working?

I agree with virtually all of the above, living close to Stoneleigh I always went to have a look and try and support the traders and club members taking a table. I also travelled up to Donnington and Malvern, those events were a definite highlight for many Lotus enthusiasts. However I alo think Covid had an effect so people had to l;ook elsewhere, and that usually mean eBay or similar.

The demise of these events is a great shame and the very small number of people selling parts at Castle Coombe last time I went was not very encoraging, as I think most were private Lotus owners try to clear their garages (and I was glad to see them despite the numbers trading).

I am also a Jaguar enthusiast and from reports coming back through the Club channels, the number of traders and buyers at the last three years events has seen a decline, so it looks like it is not just confined to Lotus. I also noticed that parts on eBay seem to be rising in price, with some sellers asking silly money, but whilst people will pay the prices it is unlikely that parts fairs will survive. Selling on this our own site is now a good option as parts can be sold or purchased by true Lotus enthusiasts.

I also know that venues such as Stoneleigh, Malvern and others have rasied the prices charged to stall holders. I personally know one very good trader that explained how much he had to pay for a very small area at Goodwood,he has been a regular there since it first started, he also attends a number of the big events across Europe (Essen for instance) and is able to compare prices. The charges at those events is considerably less than here in the UK, he is now at the point of no longer attending events here and spend more time at events abroad.

So, a sad loss for most of us unless we support members via this site.
Tony

[pereirac]

Fond memories, can’t believe this was all over 20 years ago!! I still remember piles of new steel wheels for £50 each!