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> The part about Germany and cars is also crap. So, could you suggest a link to a solid refutation?

orwin 1y ago
Anybody who understands what VAT is and how it works cannot take this part of the article seriously. I hate VAT, I think it should cease to exist (it is still marginally better than sale taxes) but I made the effort to actually try to understand how it works before writing bullshit about it on basically a blog post.
- watwut 1y ago
  The article is lying. At this point, it is not reasonable to assume this is just not understanding things. People who work in these institutions lie, they are paid for lying and they do it to project their ideological agenda.
  - smitty1e 1y ago
    > The article is lying. A legless assertion. Could you be more specific with the objection, please?
  - orwin 1y ago
    I think you greatly overestimate the understanding of people working in those institutions. They have a framework and try to make everything they read/hear about go through that framework, even if it doesn't really fit. They don't really understand, but have strong opinions and held them at least as strongly, maybe more. They aren't idiots in any case, but clearly, in this particular case, the author doesn't know what he is talking about.
watwut 1y ago
> In addition, Germany’s value-added tax is remitted on exports but charged on imports. VAT is paid regardless of who manufactured the car. It is something the final customer has to pay regardless of whether the product was made in EU or abroad. If you are buying BMW, you have to pay VAT. If you are buying Toyota, you have to pay VAT. If you are buying an American car, you have to pay exactly the same VAT. It is sales tax, basically, just managed differently to make tax fraud harder. Also, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have great reputation and fit into European roads. Ford and General Motors do not have comparatively great reputation. Germans were buying Teslas tho, before those became associated with support to far right. Article author is lying, plain and simple.
- smitty1e 1y ago
  The article is a recounting of historical facts. Do you feel that relevant facts were omitted, and if so, what? Merely asserting "lying" is unhelpful.
  - watwut 1y ago
    VAT is not an import tariff. That is a rather major lie. It is a tax applied equally to domestic and foreign produce. Not a mistake, because it is quite known to anyone who ever googled it. Given they lie about something so straightforward, I am not inclined to trust whatever they write about history. History is super easy to cherry pick and present in manipulative way.

Anybody who understands what VAT is and how it works cannot take this part of the article seriously. I hate VAT, I think it should cease to exist (it is still marginally better than sale taxes) but I made the effort to actually try to understand how it works before writing bullshit about it on basically a blog post.

watwut 1y ago
The article is lying. At this point, it is not reasonable to assume this is just not understanding things. People who work in these institutions lie, they are paid for lying and they do it to project their ideological agenda.
- smitty1e 1y ago
  > The article is lying. A legless assertion. Could you be more specific with the objection, please?
- orwin 1y ago
  I think you greatly overestimate the understanding of people working in those institutions. They have a framework and try to make everything they read/hear about go through that framework, even if it doesn't really fit. They don't really understand, but have strong opinions and held them at least as strongly, maybe more. They aren't idiots in any case, but clearly, in this particular case, the author doesn't know what he is talking about.

watwut 1y ago

> In addition, Germany’s value-added tax is remitted on exports but charged on imports. VAT is paid regardless of who manufactured the car. It is something the final customer has to pay regardless of whether the product was made in EU or abroad. If you are buying BMW, you have to pay VAT. If you are buying Toyota, you have to pay VAT. If you are buying an American car, you have to pay exactly the same VAT. It is sales tax, basically, just managed differently to make tax fraud harder. Also, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have great reputation and fit into European roads. Ford and General Motors do not have comparatively great reputation. Germans were buying Teslas tho, before those became associated with support to far right. Article author is lying, plain and simple.

smitty1e 1y ago
The article is a recounting of historical facts. Do you feel that relevant facts were omitted, and if so, what? Merely asserting "lying" is unhelpful.
- watwut 1y ago
  VAT is not an import tariff. That is a rather major lie. It is a tax applied equally to domestic and foreign produce. Not a mistake, because it is quite known to anyone who ever googled it. Given they lie about something so straightforward, I am not inclined to trust whatever they write about history. History is super easy to cherry pick and present in manipulative way.