(DP 2005-05) The economy on a cusp: the proposed VAT amendments and their larger significance

Abstract

Debates on the revision of the value-added tax (VAT) are about to reach the penultimate stage. Once house and senate have passed their respective versions of the bill, congress – through a bicameral conference committee sometimes referred to as the “third chamber” – must then agree on the final form of the law. After all the media-posturing, the politicking, and horse-trading have subsided, politicians of both chambers are still left to confront the nation’s true interests – and their own consciences. It is vital that they finally pass a law that is right in form and adequate to the economy’s needs.