> Amazon collects a very large amount of VAT, no? It's the customers who are paying, not Amazon. Economists would say that who should be viewed as "paying" any

> Amazon collects a very large amount of VAT, no? It's the customers who are paying, not Amazon. Economists would say that who should be viewed as "paying" any indirect tax (the tax incidence) depends on the price elasticity of demand for the goods/services in question. For highly inelastic goods/services, buyers should be viewed as paying the tax. For highly price elastic goods, sellers (who amount to the employees and ultimate individual shareholders of Amazon) should be viewed as paying. In the middle, it's a mixture. The "solution" the UK has proposed is another indirect tax, so whatever applies to VAT applies to that as well.