value added tax 
(abbreviation VAT)
noun [mass noun]
A tax on the amount by which the value of an article has been increased at each stage of its production or distribution.The French and German governments have prepared a paper for the convention on the future of Europe which proposes to harmonise corporation tax and value added tax to improve the single market....
- An alternative would be to allocate a proportion of value added tax directly to local authorities.
- Taxes for big business and the rich are to be lowered even further, while the broad population will be subjected to a 2 percent increase in value added tax.