Nope never heard of wikipedia, thanks for the pointer it came up with this...
EU member states are each required to adopt a value added tax that complies with the EU VAT code
VAT collected by member states is used as part of the calculation to determine what each state contributes to the EU's budget.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe...alue_added_tax
Got to feel really sorry for Hungary, 27% VAT trousered by Juncker and I see also from that wiki the EU want to harmonize it with one rate for all, bet it won't be at the lowest level of 17% that Luxembourg enjoys....
Odd isn't it where Juncker originates from? Psst, clue it's not Hungary.
13/11/2022 Sir Keir Starmer. "Brexit is safe in my hands, Let me be really clear about Brexit. There is no case for going back into the EU and no case for going into the single market or customs union. Freedom of movement is over"
The EU does not collect VAT.Got to feel really sorry for Hungary, 27% VAT trousered by Juncker
13/11/2022 Sir Keir Starmer. "Brexit is safe in my hands, Let me be really clear about Brexit. There is no case for going back into the EU and no case for going into the single market or customs union. Freedom of movement is over"
And a proportion of that 27% is. From the contributory calculation an EU citizen at 27% VAT would likely pay more than an EU citizen on 17% towards Junckers funsies. Whatever, an EU member country cannot reduce VAT to zero or abolish it, they must let Juncker trouser something. A sovereign nation outside the EU can abolish VAT.
13/11/2022 Sir Keir Starmer. "Brexit is safe in my hands, Let me be really clear about Brexit. There is no case for going back into the EU and no case for going into the single market or customs union. Freedom of movement is over"
But why would they want to abolish VAT? Any country doing so would be ripping a massive hole in their budget, and the deficit would have to be made up by increasing revenue elsewhere, and that means raising other taxes to compensate.
The UK will be missing 170 billion per year if it abolishes VAT. With an annual government expenditure of approximately 750 billion, that is a huge deficit to make up elsewhere.
Last edited by Butler to Baby Sloths; 2019-06-09 at 04:20 PM.
To replace it with something that does the exact same but carries the name of the politician proposing it. It's all small mind anti-globalist scare tactics.
No country wants to do away with VAT: it's generally accepted by the public and brings in 1/5th to 1/3rd of the federal budget. Good luck abolishing VAT and introducing a new tax without getting lynched.
To bring in a sales tax. Which is the EXACT SAME THING. But likely do it the US way where they don't show the tax on the price of product when on the shelf so they catch you out when you get to the checkout.
But it makes the Anti EU people happy because it's "Stick it to the EU we have our own tax." view.
That really annoyed me when I was in the States a few years ago. I see "$9.99" on the label, so I get a $10 note ready while queueing a the till, and then the cashier wanted something like $10.56. They were very understanding when I apologized in my very not-American accent and they twigged that I was a tourist (actually, pretty much everybody was really nice), but still :/
That's like me saying "I'm currently giving dribbles $500 per week, how about I spend it on hookers and blow instead". Even if I start spending $500 on hookers and blow, the statement is still a lie because I was never giving you $500 in the first place... the $500 I'm now spending came from somewhere else.
The different VAT rates (outside the scope, zero rated, exempt, reduced etc.) are all quite straightforward and do their job - nothing complicated about them at all. They could just do with creating one 0% category instead of three while retaining the 5% reduced category. But that's civil service mentality for you.
The only slightly complicated thing about VAT is dealing with transactions from other EU countries and the reverse charge mechanism.
Fed up with companies like Dropbox (IE VAT number) screwing me by charging VAT when they have no right to. You have to have a business subscription to register your VAT number. It's a con.
I think BJ is on the right track.
The money the UK has to pay the EU is the perfect exit strategy for both.
The EU wont budge on its prinicple, but still will give something to the brits. Money is easier to move than principles. So if BJ gets the same deal as May, with maybe 50% cut on the divorce bill, the EU could probably be ok with that, while BJ could sell this at home as a big win over Brussels.
You may say that the UK still has to abandon a lot of positions, but i think they could sell such a cut as total victory. I mean, look at some posters here, they'll swallow ANYTHING.