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...

The most striking tax development of the last half century has been the worldwide rise of the VAT. Most countries now have national VATs. In addition, several large federal countries – Brazil, Canada, and India – also have regional (state or provincial) VATs that, like national VATs, are...

The European experience shows that destination-based state VATs can be administered successfully in common markets without border controls, such as the EU, and in federations, such as the US. The existence of a (supra)national VAT would facilitate but is not a conditio sine qua non for...