EU says apply Vat to more goods

Vat should be applied to a much bigger range of goods and at the standard rate, according to an EU report that will pressure the Government to abolish the reductions and exemptions on food and children’s footwear.

The amount of Vat that the State could have collected and didn’t sky-rocketed following the onset of the economic crisis, losing the exchequer close to €2bn a year in 2009, according to the study.

But the State could collect up to 40% extra by imposing Vat on a greater number of products and services and at 21% rate, the report says.