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Amazon and eBay Sellers' VAT Fraud Rife Despite Crackdown (theguardian.com)
Huge numbers of VAT fraudsters are illegally selling goods tax-free to British shoppers on Amazon and eBay, despite new government efforts to crack down on this ballooning 1bn pound VAT evasion crisis, reports the Guardian. From the article: A Guardian investigation found a wide variety of popular goods being illegally sold without VAT on Britain's leading shopping sites. They range from cheap Christmas tree lights, electric toothbrushes and thermal socks to expensive laptops, iPads, music keyboards, violins and pingpong tables. In some cases, VAT fraudsters offer unbeatable prices. Mostly, however, their prices remain in line with law-abiding competitors and the proceeds of evasion disappear overseas, often to China. Guardian investigations found many tax-evading sellers were trading without displaying VAT numbers on Amazon or eBay. Others were showing made up numbers, or numbers cloned, without authorisation, from unsuspecting legitimate businesses.
Wait, you mean to tell me those who don't like paying obscene taxes on goods the rest of the world enjoys VAT-free, try and find ways around it?
I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you.
In related news, I wonder how many of those high-level regulators who are super-pissed about this problem also enjoy tax loopholes on a personal level.
Speaking of loopholes, any chance regulators from the Tax Haven of the Universe (Ireland) are super-pissed? They shouldn't be, since they harbor tax evasion on a scale most can't even dream of.