Who would bear the burden of a VAT? Q.Who would bear the burden of a VAT? A.A value-added tax (VAT) is a tax on consumption. Poorer households spend a larger proportion of their income. A VAT is therefore regressive if it is measured relative to current income and if it is introduced without other policy adjustments. A VAT is less regressive if measured relative to lifetime income. Read more about Who would bear the burden of a VAT?
Who bears the burden of a national retail sales tax? Q.Who bears the burden of a national retail sales tax? A.A revenue-neutral national retail sales tax would be more regressive than the income tax it replaces. Read more about Who bears the burden of a national retail sales tax?
Why is the VAT administratively superior to a retail sales tax? Q.Why is the VAT administratively superior to a retail sales tax? A.Retail sales taxes suffer from several enforcement problems. Most notably, the government has no record of transactions with which to verify retailers’ tax payments. In a value-added tax, the chain of crediting creates a natural audit trail, and the seller has more incentive to report the transaction and pay tax. Read more about Why is the VAT administratively superior to a retail sales tax?