VAT is not a revenue tax. VAT is the tax paid by consumers not by the company. Company only acts as tax collector. The weird thing is this: they collect VAT on everyting they sell, but then, for everything they buy (raw materials, office supplies, etc.) they can substract amount of VAT paid for those from the amount of VAT collected. So purchases by companies are basically VAT-free. And of course some tax optimisation schemes come into play here, with some companies getting ahead on VAT (like, actually getting a VAT refund from the government, instead of paying it).