VAT

Value-added taxes are big revenue generators in Europe, but if you're not a local person or business, you're supposed to be able to get them refunded. Tell that to the almost 72% of companies spending money overseas that have had trouble getting their VAT refunds or the 21% that have been unable to reclaim any VAT at all.

Introducing a value-added tax would cost the American economy 850,000 jobs in its first year, according to the National Retail Federation. Policymakers are considering a VAT as a possible way to reduce the federal deficit, which is currently at its highest as a share of GDP since World War II....

Is there a value-added tax, or VAT, in our near future? According to a story by Shawn Tully in Fortune, this new tax scheme is not only possible, but perhaps inevitable, given the danger to the U.S. economy posed by our enormous and growing national debt. The article cites a recent sobering report...

Now that European summer travel season is in full swing, it's time for a simple-but-potent savings reminder: Always remember to claim a tax refund for whatever you buy on your European vacation. European countries have a simpler tax system than we do. First of all, the price that's marked is the...

In laying out a new budget to tackle Britain's fiscal mess, newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has proposed a multibillion-pound bank levy, which will apply to the balance sheets of U.K. banks, as well as a hike in the value-added tax.

As of this morning, the national debt of the US is $12.1 trillion. To put that into context, if you counted $1 every second of every minute, you would have to count for 383,434 years to reach $12.1 trillion. It doesn't look to get any better as Congress just voted in a $447 billion spending bill...