The common VAT system adopted by EU member states comprises a set of various rates, which differentiate the goods and services subject to this tax. However, from a technical and management point of view, it would be preferable to adopt a single tax rate as it reduces distortions and facilitates...

This paper is based on a presentation to the GCC VAT conference, hosted by the Dubai Economic Council in Dubai in November 2008. The paper provides a background knowledge of EU Value Added Tax (VAT), focusing on the way in which the EU VAT deals with the common market. The EU has the longest and...

This paper analyses value-added tax (VAT), with special emphasis on efficiency in the EU-28 Member States and Turkey, over the period from 2009 to 2013. From the results of the analysis, we concluded that, the highest efficiency ratio (50.8) was recorded in Croatia in 2013. This indicates that...

In most member states of the European Union (EU), universal postal services provided by the incumbent operator are exempt from value added taxes (VAT) on the grounds that they are the “public postal service.” Other postal service providers have to charge VAT at the standard rate. The paper...

The recent crisis has revealed large differences in external competitiveness between euro area member countries. Since nominal exchange rate devaluation is not an option for members of a currency area, governments in troubled member countries have been considering so-called fiscal devaluation,...

The influence of the taxation of financial services in VAT on financial sector size is analyzed empirically. The authors use data from 36 countries of the European Union and the OECD for the period between 1961 and 2012. Dynamic panel data techniques are used, concretely the GMM System. An...

The influence of VAT applied to financial services on the size of the financial sector is analyzed empirically. The authors use data from 36 European Union and OECD countries for the period from 1961 to 2012. Dynamic panel data techniques are used, concretely the GMM System. An unbalanced panel...

This paper revives the question of whether a temporary VAT change is an adequate instrument for crisis stabilization. In empirical assessments, we find that durable goods consumption fluctuates strongly over the business cycle and that VAT rate changes affect durable goods in particular....

This book showcases a multidisciplinary set of work on the impact of regulatory innovation on the scale and nature of tax evasion, tax avoidance, and money laundering. We consider the international tax environment an ecosystem undergoing a period of rapid change as shocks such as the financial...