3–27. Outsource VAT Reclamations

It is in the best interests of all countries that collect value-added taxes (VAT) to retain these remittances as long as possible, even if a company is entitled to a refund for various reasons. To this end, the reclamation process is not only long, but also varies from country to country. In many cases, a company does not want to go through the effort of reclaiming funds, choosing instead to ignore the problem.

The aggravation of reclaiming VAT taxes can be shifted to a third party that specializes in VAT recoveries. Such parties usually charge a minimum fee per collection effort, as well as a percentage of the amount collected. Since a company would otherwise rarely collect the money at all, paying this fee is a reasonable way to reclaim VAT. Examples of VAT reclamation companies are Ireland-based Fexco (www.fexcotaxreclaim.com), Meridian (a subsidiary of PRGSchultz Inc., located on the Web at www.meridianvat.com), and England-based The VAT Clearinghouse (www.thevatclearinghouse.com).

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