"Best solution would be to have a common EU VAT-rate applying to all goods and services." There are politicians and policymakers in the EU who would like to se

"Best solution would be to have a common EU VAT-rate applying to all goods and services." There are politicians and policymakers in the EU who would like to see that happen. However, every country in the EU has different VAT exemptions for goods and services - harmonising that across EU nations would be extremely difficult. Politicians will have an impossible task persuading the public that goods and services that were never subject to VAT will now be taxed. What the EU should have proposed is a common VAT rate across the EU for digital goods. (This could still include exemptions or reduced rates for certain goods such as e-books.) I suspect this would have faced less opposition from member countries and it would eliminate much of the bureaucratic and administrative burden these new laws introduce.