Pay your (Portuguese) VAT and Win! Win! Win! big on the State Lotto

So… Portugal has a new computer system for paying taxes. All companies are supposed to send off their invoices for processing at the tax office. Of course, if you don’t ask for an invoice, there is no reason for the company to generate one, and so no VAT needs to be paid, right? And since it’s a hassle to get an invoice (inputting your personal ID, address, etc), lots of Portuguese can’t be bothered. So… Continue reading Pay your (Portuguese) VAT and Win! Win! Win! big on the State Lotto

The big TV switch-off happens tonight! (or does it?)

Alan Sykes writes in to say that: The BBC switch-over from our current S.E.S. Astra 1N and 2N satellite transponders to the new replacement Astra 2E “tight-beam” senders will take place at 2 a.m. tonight, into Thursday morning. This move is likely to blank-out most of Europe’s reception of BBC TV programmes, and its several radio channels. See this web-page:-

Yahoo! pulls out of Spain! for tax! benefits! goes back to Ireland! (but it’s bankrupt! anyway)

Yahoo! has sent a mass email to all of its Spanish users informing them that “to continue our excellent service” blah blah blah your user contract will be transferred to Yahoo! Ireland. I got one myself. (I use Yahoo!? Blimey. Oh yes, to fool Google.) So if you want to continue using Yahoo! in Spain, be aware that it won’t follow Spanish rules, and you have to abide by Irish laws. You can shut up Continue reading Yahoo! pulls out of Spain! for tax! benefits! goes back to Ireland! (but it’s bankrupt! anyway)

Cheeky chappie stopped at 213KPH on the motorway by Vera

A cheeky Catalan chappie was stopped by the rozzers doing 213 KPH on the toll road outside Vera yesterday. He was flooring his BMW X5, but sadly hadn’t counted on a mobile speed trap that nabbed him as he went past. He’s up in front of the local beak next week for exceeding the speed limit by 75% (it’s 120KPH just there) and is looking at a very hefty fine and more points than you Continue reading Cheeky chappie stopped at 213KPH on the motorway by Vera