I don't really know what the US equivalent is, but VAT in Europe is basically a tax on everything you consume, with a few exceptions. In England, for example, there is no VAT on books. I guess it could be called a "sales tax". If you live in a non-EU country and shop while you are visiting an EU country, you can get back the VAT for all major stuff you bought and got receipts for in the airport, in cash, on your way back home.
We do pay Federal income taxes. Everybody does
We don't. In most places in Europe, there is both income tax AND VAT, which is double taxation in my humble opinion. You get taxed on the money you make and then you get taxed again when you spend the part the state didn't get its hands on in the first place. This is especially sad in Scandinavian countries some of which have above-50% income tax levels.
I don't smoke in the presence of the Longs.
I don't see what his problem is. If I had that kind of longevity, after having lived 2,000+ years, you betcha I would be smoking as much as my little immortal heart desires.
Btw, which one of his wives did you meet? Minerva, who used to be a computer? Dora, his adopted daughter? Lapis Lazuli or Lorelei Lee, one of his twin daughter-clones who then seduced him? Or was it Maureen, his mother that he went to the past to get & started a sexual relationship with? :-)
Your adventures in Turkey do sound amusing
Worse, that was in Kazakhstan -g- Ankara Hotel, which was the only nice place to stay in Almaty in those days, was founded by Turks, and they apparently brought casino personnel from back home. Poor guys couldn't have suspected there was anyone in the casino who understood them... |
