[Info-vax] HP stopping VMS paper documentation ?

[John Wallace]

On Dec 7, 5:19 pm, Paul Sture <p... at sture.ch> wrote:
> On Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:36:49 +0000, glen herrmannsfeldt wrote:
> > As I understand VAT, the distributed (through the chain of sales) method
> > means that there is less incentive for any individual to cheat, and if
> > one does the loss isn't as big.  The sales tax system requires a more
> > concentrated enforcement system.
>
> There are still ways to cheat the VAT system that make it worthwhile.  A
> few years ago there was a large scam in the UK with the import and/or
> export of mobile phones (non-existent phones IIRC) which ran to the tune
> of hundreds of millions.
>
> One of the features of the VAT system that many don't appreciate is that
> it provides an audit trail right from manufacturer to end consumer.
>
> It can be self correcting in a way, in that if someone decides to trade
> off the books (i.e. cash in the back pocket), they cannot claim the VAT
> back on purchases (at least not without risk of getting caught), so in
> effect the tax is paid at that point.
>
> > The penalties for cheaters have to be high enough in either case to
> > discourage those who might cheat.
>
> The UK VAT used to be part of Customs and Excise, with the draconian
> powers they have.  You certainly didn't want to mess around with them.
> It's since been merged into the rest of the Inland Revenue, but I can't
> see that being a happy union due to inter-departmental rivalries. :-)
>
> --
> Paul Sture

Thank you. I was going to mention the terms "carousel fraud" and
"missing trader fraud" as opportunities for making money in the VAT
setup. These frauds are widely documented, and apparently lose the UK
billions of pounds of VAT every year. Occasionally people get caught,
tried, and sentenced.

Then there's the kind of long term multi-£billion corporate tax
dodging you get from the likes of Vodafone, in the UK and in India (to
name but one company in two countries).

In the UK Vodafone's activities even appeared to be officially
sanctioned, in a rather unusual kind of way. The very senior tax
official testifying about the to the relevant House of Commons
committee was, again really rather unusually, asked to finish his
testimony under oath: brief BBC coverage including video:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9633000/9633391.stm
and plenty more elsewhere.