Happy 50th birthday VAT! - 1st April 2023!

[rjfp1962]

Can it really be half a century.....!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/aleksandrabal/2023/03...

[Rufus Stone]

I'm yet to see any value in an added tax.

[Grumps.]

Thrilling.

[Eric Mc]

VAT was brought in because it was a condition of joining the (then) EEC. Now that we are out, can't we abolish it?

[StevieBee]

Eric Mc said:

VAT was brought in because it was a condition of joining the (then) EEC. Now that we are out, can't we abolish it?

I always thought it was a renaming of the Sales Tax which had been around since the 40s.

Either way, it is one of those oddities that we've just become used to. Almost all of my clients are public sector; the 'government'. I receive from them VAT that I add to my invoices. I then give them that money back every three months, minus any VAT I've paid on goods or services where my suppliers will pay that back to them instead of me. If someone got up in Parliament and suggested this now, they'd be taken off for a good talking to.

[Eric Mc]

StevieBee said:

I always thought it was a renaming of the Sales Tax which had been around since the 40s.

Either way, it is one of those oddities that we've just become used to. Almost all of my clients are public sector; the 'government'. I receive from them VAT that I add to my invoices. I then give them that money back every three months, minus any VAT I've paid on goods or services where my suppliers will pay that back to them instead of me. If someone got up in Parliament and suggested this now, they'd be taken off for a good talking to.

It REPLACED the old Sales Tax. Sales Tax did not have the Charge and Reclaim system that exists in VAT. It was only charged to the final retail customer. It was a much simpler system.

It was discontinued because we HAD to implement VAT on entry into the EEC.

[jeff m]

Known as purchase tax at the time, also it was not levied at the same rate for every item.