BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  “A review of the VAT system in Barbados”, a paper published last December, will be the subject of a panel discussion in this seminar.
The study found that the proportion of indirect taxes in total revenue remained unchanged after the introduction of the VAT in the mid1990s; the yield of the VAT relative to the rate of tax was no higher than for the consumption tax in the period prior to its introduction; the costs of administering the VAT and customs duties were about the same, relative to their yields, before and after the introduction of the VAT; and the consumption taxes that preceded the VAT were more buoyant in response to changes in income.