The compliance costs of VAT in the hotel industry in Mauritius

Abstract

The cost of complying with tax legislation has stimulated much controversy recently and the survey conducted by Sandford (1973) suggested that the essential characteristics of a successful VAT system are clarify and simplicity. This article lays down facts and figures that arise from a survey carried out in July 1999 in the Hotel Industry and leads to an estimation of the magnitude of the aggregate compliance costs for the year ended September 1999, the last quarter being an estimated figure. The measurable compliance costs are then used to evaluate a definite pattern relating to size of the hotels, the number of rooms and number of employees.

Keywords: Compliance costs, VAT, Hotel Industry