a tax on some goods and services. Businessespay value-added tax on most goods and services they buy and if they are VAT REGISTERED, charge value-added tax on the goods and services they sell. At regularperiods of time, the totalamount of tax paid is taken away from the total amount charged to arrive at an amount that is owed to or by the business. Finalcustomers pay VAT on these goods in shops and on services. VAT is a way of charging tax on the increase in value of goods and services at each stage as they are produced, rather than just on their final sellingprice to customers
The government announced a temporary increase in value-added tax on consumer goods.