Exemptions in VAT: A Theoretical Overview of Traditional and Modern VAT Systems

VAT exemptions are an ever-recurring issue in the case law of the CJEU. There is widespread academic consensus that exemptions are a fallacy of any VAT system. In their contribution, Christian Knotzer and Sebastian Pfeiffer, first provide a general overview of exemptions and their consequences in VAT systems. In a second step, the authors discuss the similarities and differences between traditional (e.g. the EU VAT) and modern VAT systems (e.g. the Australian GST or the GCC VAT) and their approaches to exemptions.