Value Added Tax (VAT) in Europe is regularly subject to intensive debate. It is often argued that the current VAT system should be made more uniform to enhance economic efficiency and to protect the functioning of the internal market. But it is also regularly argued that extending reduced VAT to this or that particular product would create economic benefits such as more employment and less inequality. The study concludes that there seems to be a strong argument for making the current VAT structure more simple and uniform, but also an argument for selective cuts in VAT rates primarily in locally supplied services and parts of the hospitality sector. The authors stress the need to consider each case on its own merits and to appraise whether alternative non-VAT instruments may be preferable to reduced VAT rates.
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Paper provided by Directorate General Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission in its series Taxation Papers with number
13.
Find related papers by JEL classification: H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
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