This book reviews experiences with value-added taxes (VATs) around the world.

1. Why this book?; 2. The rise of VAT; 3. Is VAT always the answer?; 4. Trade and revenue; 5. Equity and the informal sector; 6. What should be taxed?; 7. Key issues in VAT design; 8. New issues in VAT design; 9. Administering VAT; 10. Dealing with difficulties; 11. The political economy of VAT; 12. Where do we go from here?

Richard M. Bird is Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics and Adjunct Professor and Co-Director of the International Tax Program at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and currently holds appointments as a Fellow at the C. D. Howe Institute and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Andrew Young School of Public Policy, Georgia State University. He has served in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund; been a visiting professor in the United States, the Netherlands, Australia and elsewhere; and been a frequent consultant to the World Bank and other national and international organizations, working in more than 50 countries around the world. He has written and edited dozens of books and hundreds of articles, especially on public finance in developing countries. He was awarded the Daniel M. Holland Medal of the National Tax Association in 2006 for outstanding contributions to the study and practice of public finance.