VAT place of supply rules for services

My article ‘Where on earth’ (Taxation 18 June 2020 page 17) explained the rules that determine the place of supply (POS) of goods for VAT purposes. This article examines the rules that apply to the POS of services.

A significant reason for the difference between the rules for goods and services is that traditional transaction taxes have depended on the physical nature and physical movement of goods. Services do not move around in boxes that can have pieces of paper attached capable of inspection and recording as they cross borders. The POS of goods focuses on the subject matter of the supply the goods themselves and where they are during the course of the supply; the POS of services has to depend on the location of something else that can be determined with more certainty....