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Re:Commission says Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up ... by lorenzhs on Tuesday August 30, 2016 @07:33AM (#12389081)
VAT is not a fair tax, as it favours the rich at the disadvantage of the poor. It's everyone paying the same rate on basic necessities, independent of their financial situation. Sure the rich buy more stuff and thus pay more VAT, but raising VAT doesn't hurt a rich person. It hurts poor people, though.
Re:Commission says Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up ... by eru on Tuesday August 30, 2016 @09:31PM (#12395284)
Not every tax has to be progressive. It's enough to make the whole tax system progressive to achieve overall progressiveness. (Tautologically..)

Income taxes or even refunds or a basic income can fix that up.

VAT is mostly flat.

(I am in favour of taxing land by value for most or even all government expenditure. That's highly progressive, impossible to evade, and does not distort the economy at all: land's supply is fixed.)