Value Added Tax or VAT as it is called is the most common alternative strategy implemented by many countries to deal with inefficiencies within the tax system. VAT provides an opportunity to modernize the indirect tax system, to make it more efficient, appropriate and simpler.
Value added tax (VAT), is a final consumption tax levied on value added or mark up on a good or service, at each and every stage of the production and distribution chain. Value Added is the value that a business adds to its raw materials or purchases before selling the good/service. It is the mark up on that cost price.
Vat is a modern tax. It was first introduced in France in 1948. Currently it is implemented in over 100 countries around the world including the Caribbean. In 1948, France implemented it at the manufacturing level only. In 1967, Brazil implemented it at all levels and by the 1970/80s, VAT was implemented in 63 countries.
According to information gathered from the VAT implementation office, in the Caribbean, VAT is currently in operation in: Haiti(1982), Dominican Republic(1983), Trinidad and Tobago(1990), Jamaica(1991), Barbados(1997), Belize(2006), Dominica(2006), Guyana(2007), Antigua and Barbuda(2007) and St. Vincent(2007). VAT is currently being introduced/considered in St. Lucia and St. Kitts. It is being re-introduced in Grenada.
Discussions on a VAT system, in St. Lucia, started as far back as 2003, from the recommendations of the Tax Reform and Administration Commission of the ECCU, as a strategy to manage the various indirect taxes. This was followed in the 2007 budget address by the late Sir John Compton where he indicated the intention to introduce a Value Added Tax system in St. Lucia.
According to information gathered from the VAT Implementation Project office: VAT will not be an additional Tax. VAT is a replacement tax for some of the indirect taxes, currently being collected by the Inland Revenue Department and the Customs and Excise Department. Thus, VAT will not change the direct taxation system. It will, however, replace or reduce a number of indirect taxes. Since VAT and Consumption Tax cannot operate together, VAT will replace Consumption Tax.
In order to charge VAT, a business must meet a Threshold. The threshold will be the minimum annual sales amount ($) for a business. These businesses must register with the VAT Office. Under VAT, registered businesses are called taxpayers. With VAT, business entities are categorized into two groups; registered businesses and unregistered businesses. Registered businesses includes individuals, partnership, companies or other entities who supply goods and services in the courses of business- they pay VAT on purchases charge VAT on sales and can claim input tax credit.
Parliamentary taxes on the colonial peoples started with the Navigation Acts in 1660, but they were not an issue to the colonial people because they were too difficult to enforce. Then in 1764 the Stamp Act was passed, this was the first direct tax on the colonists. The Navigations Acts and the Sugar Acts of 1764, which was a tax placed on imported molasses and sugar, had not directly affected colonists, it affected the merchants. The merchants in hand would just raise prices. The stamp act was completely different. It said that any document or printed item would need to have a stamp placed on it purchased from the British government. The Stamp Act upset the colonist...
In 1765, England passed on the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act taxed a seal that was required on important documents in England, and extended that tax across the Atlantic Ocean, and into the colonies. The tax seemed like a fair deal because all the revenue generated in the colonies from the tax, would stay in the colonies, rather than get sent back to England. Even though it was
Even though the colonists resisted the Sugar Act, Britain issued another tax, the Stamp Act in March of 1765. The Stamp Act placed taxes on all legal documents from newspapers, pamphlets, licenses, legal documents and even playing...
It was the ending of December 1773, when france and england ended their war, british parliament felt the need to imply taxes in order to raise money to pay off the debt from the war. They first put a debt on sugar and tea this was known as The Sugar Act the act was placed in 1764 this was a direct tax and they felt that this would stop smuggling but the colonist still had no money, that next year The Stamp Act got placed in 1765 on almost all printed items such as newspapers and pamphlets to wills and playing cards, after this tax was placed the colonist felt that it was time to take action but the parliament ignored, but then in october delegates came together and made a petition to repeal the act in March 1766 the act got repealed.("The Stamp Act - November 1, 1765.")
North America had not been taxed directly before March 22, 1765. However, on that day, the British Parliament gave its first direct tax on the North American colonies known as the Stamp Act. The reason that this happened was to pay for the Seven Years’ War. The North American colonies’ role in this was being fought over by the French and British to rule over the colony. This made the colonists have to pay taxes on many papers and documents. Also, anyone who was thought to have disobeyed the Stamp act could be prosecuted in a court that didn’t have any juries and could be anywhere in Great Britain or its colonies known as the Vice-Admiralty Courts.
The owner reports business gain or losses on his or her personal income tax return. A sole proprietor is taxed on all assets from the business at appropriate personal tax rates. The corporation income, and acceptable expenses, is reflected on the person’s tax return. All corporation income is taxed to the owner in the year the business acquire it, whether or not the owner take away the money from the business. No disconnect federal income tax return is acquired of the sole proprietor.
The government of the United Kingdom, likewise the government of many other countries, raises money to spend on public services towards the tax system. The taxes are raised by two different levels of government, the HMRC, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and the local governments, as Barnet, Islington, Camden, Haringey, among others twenty nine local authorities in London, for instance. While the HMRC deduces taxes through Income tax, National Insurance contributions, VAT, corporation tax and fuel duty, local governments are responsible for business rates, council tax and other fees, such as on-street parking. In turn, the money deducted for tax purposes are applied to improve the health, education, social services and social security system. There are different types of taxes for different circumstances, for example, you have to earn above a certain limit to qualify for income tax and if you are self-employed you may be entitled to claim back much of your VAT (BBC, 2009).
The stamp act of seventeen sixty- four was the first round of taxes to be enforced upon the colonists. The stamp act placed a tax on all paper products in the colonies. The colonists were enraged stating that the King could not enforce taxes on them because they did not have any representation in parliament to speak for them. Colonists attacked and mobbed tax collectors until this act was repealed in seventeen sixty-six.
Taxation has always been a major controversy. Just like any major corporation, the government is constantly looking to raise revenue. The easiest and fairest way to do this is by taxing the people. However, how the people will be taxed is always an issue.
Taxes in the United States include payroll taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and a multitude of others. These taxes may be imposed on individuals, business entities, estates, trusts, or other forms of organizations. In general, there is a lot of inquiry on the current tax system. With endless loopholes, a regressed economy, and corruption there has been widespread anger on the current structure of taxation. Consequently, the wealthy have managed to become even richer despite the economic crisis. Furthermore, many taxpayers in the upper class have found loopholes to avoid substantial taxation or otherwise known as tax evasion. (Stewart 2013) Tax evasion has only grown over the years and with the national debt has become a major issue. What is more, is the intense complexity of the entire taxation process. Addressing all the issues and problems regarding the taxation structure is a meticulous and arduous process. With this in mind, politicians from both parties have tried to address individual issues within the taxation paradigm. Being that the United States has the highest corporate tax in the globe, politicians have tried to change policy regarding taxation on businesses. (Sullivan 2013) How...
The use of taxes is one of the government's favorite ways to make its presence known in the economy. While this method seems blatantly obvious, many of the ways the government uses the money collected by taxation is not. Some of the money it takes is used to fund other programs designed to "protect" consumers and to "create" jobs. Be...
Value engineering (VE) has been defined by various researchers, for example Connaughton and Green (1996) defined it as “a systematic approach to delivering the required functions at lowest cost without detriment to quality, performance and reliability” and Kelly and Male (1993) defined VE as ''The process of identifying and eliminating unnecessary cost during design and construction stages''
The main income tax legislation in Mauritius is the Income Tax Act 1995 as amended by subsequent Finance Acts. Corporate and Personal Taxes are embodied under one heading of Income Tax and are payable by all resident companies and individuals on non-exempt income derived from Mauritius and from other sources. The profits of all Resident ‘Sociétés’ (Partnerships) are taxable in the hands of the associates in proportion to their profit sharing ratio. A non-resident société is liable to income tax as if the société was a company. ‘Resident’, in relation to an income year, means:
However if only indirect taxes are implemented, the revenue could be useful to fund not only negative advertising, the consumers who wish to relieve the taxation burden could change to other uses to carry their groceries such as a shopping bag that can be used over many times.
...onclusion, registering a business is no easy task. To create a business involves a lot of time, effort and devotion towards building a company that might even take years to become profitable. With the right business idea, plan and financing one can lay the groundwork for a successful business.