A manifesto has been published online under the heading ‘Ex btw-away with it’. Businesses and consumers can sign to make it clear that displaying car prices without VAT must end.
Ex-VAT-away-with it is an initiative of used-car importer Mr. Wheelson and leasing-telling-friendly.nl, which specializes in electric cars. According to these companies, it is extremely annoying for both car buyers and car sellers that VAT-free prices are simply displayed between the prices with VAT on many sales sites. For consumers, this leads to a lot of confusion and potential disappointment, while sellers who do include VAT in their price are unfairly unfavorable.
That is why, according to the manifesto, there must be a way to clarify which price is displayed with and which without VAT. This does not necessarily mean that VAT-free prices are completely prohibited. For example, Autotrack.nl, whose used cars can also be found on Techzle.nl, has recently begun to clearly indicate whether a price includes or excludes VAT. It is also possible to search only on prices with or without VAT.
The purpose of omitting VAT is to make the price appear lower than it actually is, but that’s not the whole story. After all, in many cases business buyers, for whom such VAT cars are the most interesting, do not actually pay the VAT. In those cases there is quite something to be said for omitting VAT, but the problem is that these lower prices are often indistinguishable from the complete prices of other cars. Whoever finds that confusing, can sign here.
For Business
Incidentally, for cars, VAT only applies if the car in question is either new or has always been driven for business purposes with a recovery of VAT. Once a car is sold to a private individual, it will forever remain a margin car on which no VAT is paid. The issue with ‘ex-VAT prices’ is therefore especially relevant for young used cars that have been driven for business purposes.