Julie Park considers VAT rate shopping in the context of the recent media coverage on avoidance
Is this avoidance?
There has been much coverage in the mainstream press and TV recently on the subject of perceived tax avoidance. The focus more recently has been on the amount of corporate tax and VAT businesses pay. The articles often demonstrated a lack of understanding about the fact that major multinationals have complex supply chains that include third party manufacturers distributors etc each taking a profit. Trying to make a connection between retail sales values in a jurisdiction such as the UK and the amount of corporation tax paid is therefore nonsensical.
A similar lack of understanding has arisen with VAT rate shopping. A number of B2C online businesses have been named for properly establishing...
