Simplify VAT to cut costs, raise revenue and help the poor, says study prepared for the Mirrlees Review

<p><p><p>Abolishing zero and reduced rates of VAT would cut compliance and administration costs for business and government, interfere less with people's spending decisions, and raise enough revenue both to improve the living standards of poorer families and to cut other taxes by £11 billion, according to a study commissioned by the Mirrlees Review of the UK tax system, which is being chaired by Nobel prize-winner Professor Sir James Mirrlees for the Institute for Fiscal Studies.</p> </p><p><p><b>Erratum:</b> the effect of the illustrative proposal on the RPI was originally given as 0.35%; it should have been 3.5%. This has now been corrected.</p>