Shoppers take advantage of the reduced rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) as they buy goods in a supermarket in Bristol on December 1, 2008 in Bristol, England. Chancellor Alistair Darling introduced the lower rate of 15 percent (down from 17.5 percent) as a method of helping the high street which is facing one of its gloomiest retailing forecasts for Christmas for many years.
( - Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images Europe)












