value-added tax

noun

: an incremental excise that is levied on the value added at each stage of the processing of a raw material or the production and distribution of a commodity and that typically has the impact of a sales tax on the ultimate consumer

Examples of value-added tax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lord De La Warr paid $179,255 for it (including buyer’s premium and value-added tax) after it was originally estimated to go for between $54,000 and $81,000 by Summers Place Auctions. —Téa Kvetenadze, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2021

The various Indian state governments earn a big portion of their revenue from excise and value-added tax on alcoholic drinks. —Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 10 Nov. 2022

In the 18 months of the pandemic, more than half of the revenue for local governments have come from property, as corporate-income and value-added tax receipts declined. —John Lee, WSJ, 6 Oct. 2021

Under the region’s customs union, imports of pasta face a tariff of 20% and also value-added tax of 15%. —The Economist, 15 Mar. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

value-added tax

noun

value-ad·​ded tax

: a tax levied at each addition of value in the processing of a raw material, the performance of a service, or the production and distribution of a commodity with each payer except the consumer reimbursed from payment at the next stage

called also VAT