Canon MX850

[panos]

Good explanation by pharmacist, yet stratman has a point -- the expression "value added tax" sounds too good for what it really is...

 

[stratman]

Is the tax money collected for a specific use or does it go into a general fund for whatever the politician's decide later on?

Does each country decide how much the VAT will be for their citizens?

Does the VAT paid in each country stay in the country in which is was paid, or, are all VAT collected throughout Europe distributed amongst all countries relatively evenly?

 

[pharmacist]

Sales tax or VAT remains inside the country the tax is levied and the money goes into the state treasury for all types of expenses depending on the local policies of the particular country. You might think with the EU there is something like a superstate, but all countries are still independent entities having some common laws and rules imposed by the European Parlement/Commission.

Is VAT good or not ? My question would be: would you like to pay $500 a month for a decent health care insurance or like me only $50 a month here in Belgium.....? The bill must be paid somehow....

 

[stratman]

Pharmacist:

Thank you for the explanation.

I guess you could say the "value added" is what the tax money does for the country as a whole.

 

[panos]

Also, when purchasing equipment for a business the VAT is then deduced from the yearly tax amount a business is paying (and if you buy a lot of equipment, the VAT will be returned in tax returns). Therefore while I have paid 270 euros in cash, my taxes will decrease by ~40 euros. Thus in reality I have paid ~230 euros.

It was a mistake not clearing this up in the first place.