Value-added tax
Comparison with sales tax

VAT has no effect on how businesses organize, because the same amount of tax is collected regardless of how many times goods change hands before arriving at the ultimate consumer. By contrast, sales taxes are collected on each transaction, encouraging businesses to vertically integrate to reduce the number of transactions and thereby reduce the amount of tax. For this reason, VAT has been gaining favor over traditional sales taxes.

Another difference is that VAT is collected at the national level, while in countries such as India and the US, sales tax is collected at the point of sale by the local jurisdiction, leading them to prefer the latter method.

The main disadvantage of VAT is the extra accounting required by those in the supply chain. However, payment of VAT is made simpler when the VAT system has few, if any, exemptions (such as with GST in New Zealand).
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