Rip-off Britain is an expression used by some to refer to the phenomenon in which some products and services cost significantly more in the United Kingdom than in other countries, especially member states of the European Union and the United States, than a basic currency conversion would permit. Origin In 1999, the Consumers' Association hired a stand at the British International Motor Show, only revealing on press day its true purpose in doing so—to highlight high British car prices. The organizers of the show, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, decided not to fan the media flames by ejecting the Consumers' Association. By this point, the phrase had already taken hold in the mass media, and it became a term in frequent use to describe anything that was wrong with Britain. It also proved to be one of the elements leading to a tipping point in the harmonisation of car prices within the EU. The campaign was devised by UK advertising agency Claydon Heeley, who are known for such "guerrilla marketing" work. Possible causes Taxation The level of indirect taxation applied to some products such as alcoholic drinks, tobacco, and petroleum may serve to disguise high profit margins by the retailer, but it may also work in the opposite direction, squeezing profits when there are other legal markets with lower taxation. While the standard UK rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) of 20 per cent is generally triple or more that of US sales taxes, differences in prices can be far greater than this could account for.. The Crown Dependencies of Jersey and Guernsey are not part of the EU and Low Value Consignment Relief applied to imports. Retailers such as Play.com and Specsavers operated from Jersey or Guernsey specifically as a means of avoiding VAT. In the UK, imported commercial goods valued up to £15 are exempt from VAT; for personal gifts, the exemption rises to £36. As of July 2014, imports up to the value of £135 are not liable for UK customs duty. Business costs Companies sometimes argue that some of their fixed costs are higher in the United Kingdom than elsewhere, such as for storage and distribution. The truthfulness of this defence varies from case to case. For example, the UK has around the fiftieth-highest population density of any country in the world, eight times that of the US and over twice that of France,