The value added tax (VAT) is applicable to most of the commodities and services.

Japan s government has a huge debt burden, and its consumption tax rate is far lower than the value added tax rates that prevail in Europe.

Because of the high registration tax (180 ), VAT (25 ), and one of the world's highest income tax rates, new cars are very expensive.

First, the prices that the traveler sees are generally increased by value added tax (VAT), which is universal in Europe but unknown in the US. Remove the VAT, which is typically 15 or more, and the prices in Europe are similar to those in the US.

Ordinary Europeans have to pay value added tax on most of the goods and services that they buy, so why not tax purchases of stocks, bonds, and all kinds of derivatives?

There is no income tax in Vanuatu but it has a value added tax system in place.

Northern Cyprus, like Turkey, offers a 2.5 percentage point refund on VAT, compared to the standard VAT rate of 13 .

Hollande s predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, tried to address this problem. He exempted voluntary overtime pay from employment tax and shifted some of the burden of labor taxation onto consumption (via a hike in VAT).

To be sure, a simple VAT is regressive, though it can be made progressive by combining it with a partial rebate or by exempting necessities.

The VAT increase will hurt, but there was no other way.

On the revenue side, as many as 63 developing countries are considering raising consumption taxes, such as the value added tax.

The response is centered on a payroll tax cut, which will be offset by spending cuts and a higher value added tax.

Look for a sign saying VAT Refund for Tourists .

Some developing countries have introduced a far reaching VAT refund system for consumers who collect official receipts.

Hollande s predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, tried to address this problem. He exempted voluntary overtime pay from employment tax and shifted some of the burden of labor taxation onto consumption (via a hike in VAT).

Existing proposals include a Robin Hood tax on financial transactions, a share of the profits from the EU s carbon emissions trading scheme, or a larger take from value added tax receipts.

For example, we can choose how much to collect via a general income tax, a payroll tax, a consumption tax (such as a sales or value added tax), and so on.

When governments think about the difficult task of raising taxes, they usually think about income tax, business taxes, and value added tax (VAT).

For example, value added tax is designed to encourage firms to procure invoices for their inputs in order to reduce their own tax outlays.

In particular, the US should consider introducing a value added tax (VAT), widely used in other industrialized countries.

So an energy tax roughly equal to the euro s 33 appreciation in recent years would be about right.

In the autumn, Prime Minister Terzić had offered his resignation over the Bosnia and Herzegovina Parliament's failure to adopt a government proposal on the value added tax (VAT) rate.

The best guess is that Japan will raise its value added tax, now only 5 , far below European levels.

(Another case with similar consequences was Japan s value added tax increase in 1997, which precipitated a collapse of consumption).

It encourages fundamental analysis of a company s operations, and some advocates hope that a Tobin tax would push firms themselves to focus even more on long term value.

A permanent establishment (PE) is a fixed place of business which generally gives rise to income or value added tax liability in a particular jurisdiction.

Japan s governments have been fragile and short lived for close to a decade, and the current debate over raising the value added tax could cause another change of administration.

But a Tobin tax is a good place to start if we want to send a strong message about the social value of the casino known as global finance.

While the value added tax will rise by three percentage points in 2007, economic growth will remain healthy, at nearly 2 .

A Europeanization of some part of value added tax would be a tremendous advance in combating the massive fraud that the existing system nurtures.

Sarkozy s proposed cure is to boost growth by reducing the tax burden on employers, while simultaneously hiking the rate of value added tax.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that this form of value added tax could bring in between 0.5 and one percentage point of GDP in revenue.

Some observers suggest that Obama s unspoken plan is ever growing entitlements eventually paid for by a European style value added tax.

But if the US does use the inflation tax as a way to reduce the real value of its public debt, the risk of a disorderly collapse of the US dollar would rise significantly.

An Inequality Tax

Of course, falling gas prices are occurring in Europe as well, and this will help take the sting out of the controversial VAT increase engineered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

America, in fact, needs a value added tax, which is widely used in Europe, but Obama himself staunchly ruled out that kind of tax increase during his election campaign.

And inflation is like default a capital levy on holders of public debt, as it reduces the real value of nominal liabilities at fixed interest rates.

Four laws ensuring the legal and technical framework of the Indirect Taxation Authority still needed to be in place if value added tax were to be introduced on time in January 2006.

A second poll tax was approved, this time with a sliding scale of taxes against seven different classes of English society, with the upper classes paying more in absolute terms.

The Corporate Tax Conundrum

2220 Stamp tax

2250 Statistical tax

The Value of Being Undervalued

A tax called a death tax is regarded very differently from a tax called an inheritance tax, even though the two are really identical.