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What is VAT?
Value added tax is a vital tool for raising revenue to fund education, healthcare and more. We explain how it works and how it could be improved.
Article
A brief history of VAT in Europe and the UK
- 18 Sep 2024
- ICAEW Insights
Hatched as a concept at the end of the First World War and brought into use in the wake of the Second, VAT was designed to be simple and politically neutral.
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Podcast
How to fix VAT
- 29 Oct 2024
- ICAEW
In this episode we’ll be talking about the problems with VAT and why ICAEW is launching a new campaign, How to Fix VAT.
Listen now
Article
Why previous efforts to simplify VAT have failed
- 19 Nov 2024
- ICAEW Insights
Fifty years on from its introduction, VAT is a complex tax that taxpayers struggle to understand. Despite attempts at simplification, including by the Office of Tax Simplification itself, VAT remains notoriously complicated. Experts explain why this is the case.
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Lessons on VAT from New Zealand and Australia
Lessons on VAT from New Zealand and Australia
- Article
- 27 Nov 2024
- ICAEW Insights
For UK tax policy stakeholders, fascinating case studies of how other countries are approaching VAT can be found on the other side of the world.
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Article
The complicated and costly world of VAT
- 23 Oct 2024
- ICAEW Insights
Everyone knows UK VAT is complicated and, for taxable persons, costly to comply with. But why is the tax so complex, and why does it often impose onerous compliance costs?
Article
Progressive VAT: is now the time?
- Article
- 02 Oct 2024
- ICAEW Insights
Under a progressive tax system, wealthier individuals pay tax at a higher rate than those on lower incomes. Angela Bedi considers the merits of a progressive VAT, and how it could be achieved.
Article
The ups and downs of the VAT registration threshold
- 30 Sep 2024
- ICAEW Insights
The VAT registration threshold increased to £90,000 in April 2024, but should it be higher? Or would the UK benefit from a lower threshold?