flipper:


I think the VAT structure is overly cumbersome with 80% of the
paperwork going to no end because it's all 'value added' tax then
rebate then tax then rebate then... before getting to the consumer.

It's not as bad as it sounds. At the end of the month you sum up all the
VAT you added on your invoices, subtract all the VAT that was on your
supplier's invoices and pay the difference. Any accounting software will do
it automatically.

It is true that, this way, you have the responsibility of doing something
that should be a government duty, but, this way, it's very difficult and
risky to evade sales taxes. In the US, instead, it was pretty easy. That's
why in Europe mail catalogues never had luck.

In Italy, if you're not a corporation, your customer will detract 20% of
the invoice and pay it to the state as income tax on your behalf.

Even easier: your invoice is $100, you add $20 VAT, detract $20 income tax
and get your $100. Easy, but you have already paid VAT on your bills.

It can get really nasty: since "abitual exporters" are not subject to VAT
(that's another huge scam), if you happen to have mostly "abitual
exporters" customers, as me, you end up by getting only $80 for your $100
invoice (having already paid VAT on your bills).

So you have to ask for a refund. But you can't, since asking for a refund,
here, is sanctioned by an harrassing visit of our IRS agents. If you are
brave enough, you can do it, but you will get your money back not before
FIVE years.

The 'poor' here don't generally pay any tax at all on those things,
nor income tax. They get hit for the normal sales tax on so called
'non essentials', meaning everything else.

As, basically, here.

Well, the money has to come from somewhere.

Right. Until I will pay a public employee to state that I'm disabled, so
I'll get $600 a month and stop worrying.