Recent VAT legislative developments

The UK introduced VAT in place of purchase tax on 1 April 1973 following which there has been an ever-increasing movement from direct to indirect taxation globally increasing the importance and relevance of VAT and other sales taxes internationally. VAT is now the third largest source of government revenue and is generally viewed as one of the most effective instruments for raising funds.

As readers will know VAT has recently celebrated its 50th birthday in the UK – a fact celebrated in the 6 April 2023 edition of Taxation. Following on from Robert Leach’s look at VAT past and future in his article ‘VAT: a very arbitrary tax’ I will examine recent legislative reforms how they affect various industry sectors and how technology is driving future developments.

Keeping pace with technology

In recent years the biggest cause of disruption has been the increasingly rapid...