In article ,
whisky-dave wrote:

We pay VAT and those outside the EU don't pay VAT.

but, in a great many cases pay a "sales tax" which amounts to the same
thing. After all, before VAT we had Purchase Tax. yes, visitors to the EU
can claim back the VAT they've paid on purchases, but when they declare the
goods at Customs at home, they will almost certainly have to pay import
duty - or an equivalent.

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from KT24 in Surrey, England