Depending on your implementation a VAT may not be progressive and may just be proportional, which is usually what you don't want in a tax system (because while

Depending on your implementation a VAT may not be progressive and may just be proportional, which is usually what you don't want in a tax system (because while its not nearly as bad as regressive taxation like the US corporate tax rates now, a neutral tax rate doesn't do anything to curtail the natural accumulation of wealth among the top echelon of earners). I've not looked into the individual EU VATs but my understanding is that most are just flat fractional taxes on profits paid by the consumer. Such a system is rife for the same complexities as current tax codes as you start adding exceptions and refunds to try to offset the fact that the VAT on a commodity car would be the same percentage wise as on a Ferrari despite the later obviously being capable of paying more in tax if making such a lavish purchase. So you start adding tax credits to cheap car purchases or make a deductible and start adding and tweaking those across the board until you are right back where you started with an overtly complicated tax policy that has just shifted the complexity from tax collection to tax refunds.