VAT exemption for medical care

What difference has Brexit made? In some places posing that question is a good way to start a fight. As I am a VAT nerd I am raising it in a technical and VAT-specific sense rather than a political or philosophical one. Neil Warren examined some of the arguments in relation to the recent decision in Yorkshire Agricultural Society (TC8803) (‘Brexit challenges’ Taxation 3 August 2023): I will go further into the detail in relation to a different argument that I see looming on the horizon.

Plus ça change…

To recap there are some things we know for sure. UK VAT law has always been derived from the EU VAT directives: deviations were only allowed within the strict limits of those directives. For example we were permitted to retain zero rating of certain types of supply but not to add further...