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Global Trends and Issues in Value Added Taxation

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Abstract

Since the late 1960s, the VAT has become one of the mainstays of the tax systems in over one hundred countries. Apparently, its revenue raising and neutrality properties make it an attractive tax in a rapidly integrating, high-tax world. Following an overview of VATs throughout the world, this article examines various VAT structure and policy issues under the following headings: tax coverage features, tax base aspects, hard-to-tax sectors, rate structure issues, and interjurisdictional coordination problems. It is shown that the normative requirements of a ‘good’ VAT are often met only in the breach.

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  1. Economics Faculty, Erasmus University, P.O. Box 1738, 3000, DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Sijbren Cnossen

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  1. Sijbren Cnossen
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Cnossen, S. Global Trends and Issues in Value Added Taxation. International Tax and Public Finance 5, 399–428 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008694529567

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