[pjc50]

Only people who are wrong consider VAT a tariff. Yes, importers have to pay it, but so do local manufacturers.

VAT has basically the same effect as sales taxes with a much more complicated tax incidence.

[freeone3000]

At an individual level, it’s not more complicated: it’s reimbursed instead of exempted. And if you’re charging it, it’s easier, since you simply always charge instead of maintaining your list of exceptions.

[pjc50]

UK VAT certainly has a complicated list of exceptions, especially "non-luxury food" (see the Jaffa Cake case https://www.astonshaw.co.uk/jaffa-cake-tax/)

[freeone3000]

But these are per-product, not per-customer. (Businesses, charities, and some customers are exempt from sales tax regardless of what they are buying.)