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Penny wise, pound foolish

This is what I call penny wise, pound foolish. If the BTW (Value Added Tax in Dutch) on energy saving bulbs is reduced, would it not give more incentive to people to buy them? I see that the price difference between conventional bulbs and energy saving ones is quite remarkable in Holland, especially in large wattage bulbs (like 75 watt and 100 watt equivalence bulbs). If the BTW is reduced (or better, eliminated for a couple of years), it will give people more incentive, as the break even period will be reduced.

Lowering the btw tax on energy-saving light bulbs is a possibility but is not yet an option...

The minister was commenting on recommendations from her Lighting
Taskforce which says traditional light bulbs of 60 watts and above
should be phased out by 2011 and energy-saving versions be made much
cheaper through lower btw and a scrapping of the import tax.
DutchNews.nl - No tax cuts on energy-saving bulbs

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