value-added tax
noun
an excise tax based on the value added to a product at each stage of production or distribution: value added is arrived at by subtracting from the total value of the product at the end of each production or distibution stage the value of the goods bought at its inception. Abbreviation: VAT
Also called
added-value tax.
Origin of value-added tax
First recorded in 1930–35
Words nearby value-added tax
value added,
value date,
value fund,
value judgment,
value-added,
value-added tax,
valued,
valued policy,
valueless,
valuer,
valuer general
British Dictionary definitions for value-added tax
Cultural definitions for value-added tax
value-added tax
A tax on the value added to a product at each stage of its production, from raw materials to finished product. Widely employed in Europe, value-added taxes have the advantage (for governments) of raising revenue “invisibly,” that is, without appearing as taxes on the bill paid by the consumer.