Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2021 September 25

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September 25

best reference for spelling of greek letters?

Is there a better source for the fact that the spelling *in Greek* of the Greek Letters is a specific way than A Greek–English Lexicon? I'm specifically looking for Ancient Greek (i.e. corresponding to "Fraternity/Sorority Greek). I'm specifically looking for a *large* blunt object to deal with a group that spells Theta as Theta-Epsilon-Tau-Alpha rather than Theta-Eta-Tau-Alpha. I know that there are alternate spellings (Lambda sometimes doesn't include the Mu in the spelling of the letter.)Naraht (talk) 07:31, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

Will this do? For the Ancient Greek spelling of the name of the letter θ (theta), see here, page 938 left column about one fifth down, where it says θῆτα. The second letter of that word, without the circumflex accent, is an η (eta); see here for the letter itself (Η, η) and here for its Ancient Greek name, page 911 also left column about two thirds down, where it says ἦτα. Spelling the name with an epsilon would produce a non-existent word ^✽θετα. See also Category:grc:Greek letter names on the Wiktionary sister project.  --Lambiam 12:23, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

Are there any country where the tax on food and drinnks is 0%?

Are there any countryies where the tax on food and drinnks is 0%?179.183.34.76 (talk) 18:55, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

I think you'd need to specify the question better. California, and I think various other US states, do not impose sales tax on food, with some exceptions. But of course other sorts of taxes are levied all along the supply chain. (The US has no federal sales tax or VAT, so anything of that nature is at the state level, again with exceptions, such as the federal excise tax on tires.) --Trovatore (talk) 19:06, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

And some alcohol, tobacco and fuel products? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 19:55, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

Even tobacco-growing states have taxes on tobacco. A quick Google review indicates federal tax on all three of those items you mention. There are also various state taxes, and in some cases there are local taxes. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:09, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

And taxation may depend on the form of the food and drink. Here in Ontario, for example, most food from a supermarket is tax-free (though soft drinks are taxed), but "prepared food" from a restaurant is certainly taxed. If you buy doughnuts at Tim Hortons, a one-doughnut serving is considered prepared food, but if you buy six at a time, then, as they used to put it, "6 pax no tax". I have no personal experience with alcoholic drinks but I'd expect them to be more heavily taxed. --184.144.99.72 (talk) 21:35, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

Taxes on tobacco and alcohol are sometimes called "sin taxes". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:32, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

While it is a separate economy from the rest of China, Hong Kong is not a country. Nevertheless, it has zero taxes on retail transactions, and no import duties aside from those on fuels and spirits. That is, beer and wine are tax free, as are all foods. DOR (HK) (talk) 21:59, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

In the UK most food is untaxed, but food in restaurants or hot take-away food is subject to VAT. Alcoholic drinks and tobacco are subject to both excise duties and VAT. DuncanHill (talk) 22:45, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

When you say "most food", do you mean mostly food bought in grocery stores? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:13, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

I mean food which is neither sold for consumption on the premises nor hot take-away food. The article I linked already has a list of the various rates of VAT in the UK and the goods and services on which it is chargeable. DuncanHill (talk) 23:22, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

I take that as a "yes". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:37, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

To be specific Baseball Bugs:

Food and drink for human consumption is usually zero-rated but some items are always standard-rated. These include catering, alcoholic drinks, confectionery, crisps and savoury snacks, hot food, sports drinks, hot takeaways, ice cream, soft drinks and mineral water. Restaurants must always charge VAT on everything eaten either on their premises or in communal areas designated for their customers to use, such as shared tables in a shopping centre or airport food courts. In addition, restaurants and takeaway vendors must charge VAT on all hot takeaways and home deliveries, but do not need to charge VAT on cold takeaway food unless it’s to be eaten in a designated area. [1] Alansplodge (talk) 20:20, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

The Vatican has no taxes, but it also has no place where you could buy food. The US state of Oregon has no sales tax or VAT. —Amble (talk) 04:33, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

Maybe "you" could not, but does the Vatican have to import food every day from Italy for people who live there? Seems unlikely and inconvenient. --184.144.99.72 (talk) 06:33, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

Yes. Why is that inconvenient? There are no customs formalities and it is not as if they need truckloads. Many hospitals have more beds than Vatican City and manage to feed their inpatients without problems.  --Lambiam 10:34, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

"It looked like any other Italian supermarket, except that in the aisles, teams of nuns and priests were hastily loading up shopping trolleys with wine and cigarettes. There are no taxes or duties, so prices were one-third cheaper than in the rest of Rome. Nearby priests and nuns make special trips to the Vatican to stock up."?? Martinevans123 (talk) 10:47, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

Catholics aren't really against wine in moderation, that's more of a Protestant thing. Cigarettes seem very anti-life and don't have the acceptance chance boost of being a Mediterranean area staple since forever but strangely the stinky post-Columbian weed that's hyperaddictive to everyone is no less halal than an ounce of liquor every dinner: Religious views on smoking#Christianity. (would be a lot more fun if Catholic moderation extended to a little serial monogamy or if celibacy allowed one 1-year romance per lifetime) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 15:24, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the rant. Does the zero tax make them any more or less anti-Christian? I must admit I was amused by the thought of "teams of nuns and priests hastily loading up shopping trolleys with wine and cigarettes". Martinevans123 (talk) 20:22, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

I'm guessing you assumed I hate Catholics? I haven't cared about Christian squabbles for many years and have always thought all branches were Christian even when I still believed Catholicism. And yes that was exactly the funny thought your text gave me: teams of nuns and priests hand-shoveling cartons and grabbing wines like Supermarket Sweep. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 22:57, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

It's common for Catholic parish churches in the UK to have a licensed bar in the church hall. On the other hand, in most English villages, the pub and the Anglican church are usually in close proximity. Alansplodge (talk) 21:34, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

I've never heard of a church with a bar in it. What are they like? Even the Eucharist rarely gives wine where I live, the priest always gets wine but not everyone (one time everyone got wine and I don't know why. Lowest attendance I ever saw?) Do some British churches have Las Vegas or at least bingo nights? Where the public plays blackjack or something against the church? (which is probably still the only legal way to deal blackjack in New York City besides the automated robots at the one casino (in the middle of nowhere)) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 03:04, 28 September 2021 (UTC)

Church hall, not in the church itself. That's "a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use". Iapetus (talk) 09:31, 28 September 2021 (UTC)

Brunei does not currently levy any income tax on individuals and there is no sales tax or value added tax. [2] Alansplodge (talk) 20:15, 26 September 2021 (UTC)