Taxware, a leading provider of
global transaction tax calculation and compliance solutions, has
released its “Five Most Unusual International Value Added Tax (VAT)
Laws for 2006.”
Taxware, a leading provider of global transaction tax calculation and compliance solutions, has released its “Five Most Unusual International Value Added Tax (VAT) Laws for 2006.” The company’s team of international tax experts, who continually monitor over 27,000 ever-changing tax jurisdictions around the globe, compiled the annual listing.
In reviewing the latest VAT laws from across the globe, the Taxware team has selected the following as the most unusual in 2006:
5. In Morocco, the operation of Turkish-style baths and public showers are exempt from VAT but if you want to emerge clean as well as relaxed, then a tax of seven percent is payable on any soap that’s used.
4. Belgians that collect and store manure pay VAT at the standard rate of 21 percent. However, spreading manure around is viewed as an agricultural service and taxed at a lower rate of six percent.
3. Icelanders take the preservation of the Icelandic language, which has changed little since the 13th century, very seriously. Keen to keep matters this way, the government taxes books written in Icelandic at just 14 percent, rather than the standard 24.5 percent for those printed in other languages.
2. In the horse racing-mad Republic of Ireland, it might come as some surprise to find that shodding your trusty steed attracts a levy of 21 percent whilst equine dentistry is taxed at just 13.5 percent.
1. In the UK, individual chocolate flakes are taxed at the standard 17.5 percent rate. But buy a catering box of at least 144 and a zero rating will be applicable, provided that the pack is clearly labeled “for use as cake decorations only: not for retail sale.”
