VAT increases: AIUI it's more about tax simplification & transparency. At the moment there are so many exemptions and reductions to various VAT rates depending

VAT increases: AIUI it's more about tax simplification & transparency. At the moment there are so many exemptions and reductions to various VAT rates depending on type of goods/service/location etc that it becomes close to impossible to accurately determine tax liability and monitor tax avoidance, especially when you've got a generally underfunded tax collection agency. Not to mention as a business it's really hard to actually work out what you owe, even if you are trying to play by the rules. Effectively there's not much point in the existing VAT regime because it is so opaque, so if you're going to keep it at all you need to simplify somehow. Not denying it's likely to have a negative impact on consumption.