Which of the following is a characteristic of VAT?

VAT, or Value Added Tax, is characterized primarily by its application at each stage of the supply chain. This means that at each phase, from production to final sale, a certain percentage of tax is added to the value of the goods or services. Each business in the supply chain adds VAT to their sales and can reclaim any VAT they have paid on their purchases, thus creating a cascading effect where tax is levied on the value that is added at each point, rather than only on the final sale to the consumer. This feature of VAT allows for a broad tax base and reduces the chances of tax cascading unintentionally, as businesses are incentivized to track and report their VAT transactions accurately.

In contrast, the other options suggest characteristics that do not accurately reflect how VAT operates. For instance, the notion that VAT applies only to profits of companies misrepresents VAT as a direct tax on income rather than a consumption tax. Similarly, the claim that VAT is paid entirely by consumers without any exemptions does not account for exemptions and zero-rated goods/services that are often included in many VAT systems. Lastly, stating that VAT can only be transferred to federal authorities disregards how VAT can be administered at various levels of government, including state or local authorities, depending on