Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMercenary
I would support a 9% sales tax on everything like in your tax heavy country similar to a VAT. So tell us how that has worked out for your country and it's current situation? Has it fixed your problems?
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That would suppose that there was a time just before our current major problems when we didn't have VAT, and attempted to counter that with the addition of VAT, the results of which are simple, measurable and ready to be trotted out on a message board.
We've had VAT for a very long time. Almost 40 years. During the time that we've had VAT our economy has been great and it's been awful, and great, and awful again.
We are currently dealing with an economic situation that has been created at an international level. Whether we add extra VAT is neither here nor there on the grand scale. It can help bring in some extra revenue (though not a masive amount) and likewise reductions in VAT can boost sales and encourage growth. But not by vast amounts.
The most noticable and contested taxes are income tax (per individual) council tax (per household) and National Insurance (per employee, and per employer).
So, no. VAT hasn't solved our economic problems. It's just there. It goes up and it goes down according to the needs of the economy, but it's just there. Good or bad, fair weather or fine, we still have VAT.
What changes is the rate of VAT. Currently it's pretty high. 20% on most stuff. With some stuff exempt (such as books) and some stuff charged at a lower rate (5%).
We don;t really tend to notice VAT that much in day to day shopping. We notice it on our bills for stuff (like utility bills). Or if we buy a high ticket item, such as a car or computer. But for lower end shopping, the VAT doesn't show on the price tag. It's just included in the price. We only notice it on high ticket items because they usually give an item value then an item value with VAT underneath.
Tell you what though: though our tax system hasn't 'solved' the problem(?) and though we do have areas of high deprivation, what we don't have is tent cities full of people who've been abandoned to their fate. Or sports halls playing host to drop in medicine for which the poor queue round the block for half a day for their occasional chance of diagnosis.