4 ms·
In the EU, everything that is traded, whether it be a good or a service, is subject to a "value added tax". Incorrect. I own an Estonian (an EU member) company
by Strom 15y ago
In the EU, everything that is traded, whether it be a good or a service, is subject to a "value added tax".
Incorrect. I own an Estonian (an EU member) company that can sell stuff and offer services without VAT. VAT is actually optional until a certain revenue threshold.
- robin_reala 15y agoAlso, VAT isn’t charged for certain product categories in the EU. In the UK, for instance, children’s clothing is VAT-free.
- saurik 15y ago...and sales tax is different for different classes of product in the US, with some things getting better treatment, such as groceries, and some things worse, such as car tires. I did not expect it to be relevant to this specific case, but yes: I guess children's clothing is an interesting one for this Regretsy charity drive; that said, they stated "toys", not "clothing", and I don't remember toys being on that exemption list (which I actually have read, as I needed to see if any of the things I was selling had different rates). (PS: the coolest one I've seen is that bound physical books often have much better tax rates than other goods, leading to hilarious situations where shipping someone a physical pamphlet that includes base64 might be much cheaper than selling them an expensive piece of software on CD. ;P)
- rmc 15y agoAs an aside, the company that makes Jaffa Cakes, a popular biscuit in the UK, went to court to get their biscuits counted as cakes. Cheaper VAT. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Cakes#Cake_or_biscuit.3F http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Cakes#Cake_or_biscuit.3F
- einhverfr 15y agoThis varies by tax jurisdiction. For a while in Washington State, snickers bars were taxed as candy but Twix were tax-free because they were "groceries"....
- rmc 15y agoAs an aside, the company that makes Jaffa Cakes, a popular biscuit in the UK, went to court to get their biscuits counted as cakes. Cheaper VAT. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Cakes#Cake_or_biscuit.3F http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Cakes#Cake_or_biscuit.3F
- eoin_murphy 15y agoTechnically, it is not VAT Free. It's rather that the rate of VAT is 0%. Effectively the same I know...
- chalst 15y agoNot the same. Business that sell VAT 0% items (zero-rated items) can still deduct VAT on supplies, whilst providers of VAT exempt goods can't claim back VAT on supplies. For example, admission to a charitable event is VAT exempt in the UK, while goods sold at a charity shop are zero-rated. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/goods-services.htm http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/goods-services....