VAT always has felt overly complicated to me. At least everytime I try to look at and understand it. It feels like it's a potentially good solution but calling it VAT will cause issues.
From a consumer perspective VAT as implemented in Europe much simpler than sales tax in the US. The price advertised is actually the price you pay.
As a business it’s really not that much more complex. Add VAT to all the invoices you send out. Keep track of how much was charged to you by your suppliers. Pay the difference to the tax man.
