mr_grinche

Sorry to mention the war and all that with our American Cousins, but did any see this coverage on TV? It was somthing else I think we can all agree and Team Europe were amazing!!

The reason I ask is because I managed to get some tickets for Saturday and Sunday so I spent the two days at the K Club where it was all happening. As you are probably aware BMW was one of the main sponsors of the event. For this they had about 3 stands around the grounds 1) M5, 2)M6 Convertible and 3)X3. They also supplied 20 E61 530d M Sport Tourings and 5 X5's 3.0d. These cars were VIP Courtesy cars and were driven by attractive dolly bird types. They were used to ferry VIP's around the course. All this is great and your probably wondering where I am going.

On both day's I was with a large contingent of people who were availing of corporate hospitality and as well as the discussions about the golf what people were discussing was how mean BMW were. The reason for this was that every one of these BMW vehicles were all registered in the United Kingdom, which as we are all aware is our nearest neighbour but indeed a foreign country. Now the reason for this was that in Ireland we have a tax called VRT which is made up of about 30% of the vehicles value. So BMW Uk who also run the irish business decided why should we register these cars in Ireland and Pay the Tax in Ireland when we can pull a sly one and drive these vehicles illegally and then just ship them back to the UK when the Ryder cup is finished.

A very cheap stunt BMW and not one that went unoticed by the decision makers in Ireland who buy your cars!

Grinche

ro11dice

stay tuned for the American Express Tourney this weekend...I know it's not our US team but Tiger's saving some face for us across the pond.

swajames

Well, in fairness to BMW, there's actually nothing illegal going on here. The cars were properly registered in the UK and they will already be tax and VAT paid. They can legitimately be driven on a temporary basis in any other EU member state without any additional payment of tax. Under EU rules this is typically permitted for up to 6 months in any given 12 and it is a legitimate temporary tax exemption. The temporary tax exemption is equally applicable to both business and private usage in EU member states other than the vehicle's primary place of registration. Bust the time limits, however, and the car generally becomes subject to tax in the jurisdiction where you went over the 6 months. FWIW it does work the other way too - Irish registered cars that were appropriately tax paid could be used in the UK without any further tax payment.

mr_grinche

Understand the legalites, however the long and the short of it was that BMW were looking to maximise profile for a big sporting event and instead of supplying cars from the host country they imported them leaving foreign plates on the cars because it was a cheaper option. If any of us went into a BMW showroom and asked for cheaper options we would be scoffed at by a condescending Sales Advisor?

alohalc

he made eagle on the 18th 3 days in a row . that dude is amazing!