linguistic:paraphrasing, structural:scholar_edition
History

Germany and France were the first countries to implement a VAT, enacting a general consumption tax during World War I. German industrialist Wilhelm von Siemens proposed the concept in 1918. The modern variation of VAT was first implemented by France in 1954 in its Ivory Coast colony. Assessing the experiment as successful, France introduced it domestically in 1958. Maurice Lauré, joint director of the French tax authority implemented VAT on 10 April 1954; initially directed at large businesses, it was extended over time to include all business sectors. In France it is the largest source of state finance, accounting for nearly 50% of state revenues.