The only difference is that the VAT is a certain % depending on your country (mostly 15-25%), making it easy for a merchant to calculate it with a single data point. Percentage is also always a fixed round number, so you can calculate it in your head when you stumble upon "+ VAT" somewhere without providing that data point to the merchant for calculation purposes.
I used to live in Turkey, where taxes on some stuff are insane but most people won't ever know because it is not as obvious. In a similar vein, income tax is also quite hidden in Turkey, at least from yhe perspective of employee
My favorite example of how absurd it can get in the US: one side of my friend's street has 9.5% sales tax, the other side has 7.25%. same state, city, and zip.