15% Vat ?

Just_landed

We have had the 15% VAT rate for a while now. Most people agree it was a waste of time & cost to reduce it by 2.5 %. so what was the real reason to do this ? I notice for example Luxembourg's vat rate is 15%, is there any other country in Europe with a VAT rate @ 15% ? :think:

esuhl

I believe the legal minimum VAT rate in the EU is 15%. It was done (almost) purely as a publicity stunt. The prime minister had effectively bought media airtime by reducing the VAT rate.

A list of VAT rates can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value-added_tax#EU_countries.

RayWolfe

We used to have VAT at 15% until Mr Lamont put it up to 17.5%. I well remember how everyone thought that was a terrible idea as it would put prices up. Strange that when the current Chancellor puts the rate down, some politically motivated people think that too, is bad.
Funny old world.

mrsmyagi

The 2.5% cut was absolutely pointless and just acted to increase costs for businesses across the UK. just my opinion...