Finance Minister P Chidambaram congratulated the UP government for introducing VAT and “wish them success.”
Roll out of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the country became complete, with Uttar Pradesh adopting the new tax system that has made 91 items including kerosene, milk and medicines cheaper on account of reduced rate of levy.
VAT, which replaces [...]

1) VAT is regressive
It is claimed that the tax is regressive, ie its burden falls disproportionately on the poor since the poor are likely to spend more of their income than the relatively rich person. There is merit in this argument, particularly if it attempts to replace direct or indirect taxes with steep, progressive [...]

Advantages of VAT
In the advantages part we will first look after the broad coverage of VAT in the Indian market. Then we will consider the level of security the Indian VAT is having on our revenues. Obviously the selection of items to be covered by VAT in India will be given a bullet to [...]

Under the VAT system, no exemptions will be given and a tax will be levied at each stage of manufacture of a product. At each stage of value-addition, the tax levied on the inputs can be claimed back from the tax authorities.
At a macro level, there are two issues, which make the introduction of [...]

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a general consumption tax assessed on the value added to goods and services.
It is a general tax that applies, in principle, to all commercial activities involving the production and distribution of goods and the provision of services. It is a consumption tax because it is borne ultimately by the [...]