Low VAT doesn\\\'t always help poor: OECD

PARIS, Dec 10 (Reuters): Lower rates of value added tax do not always benefit the poor, the OECD think tank said on Wednesday in a report urging governments instead to consider means-tested and other direct benefits to boost income equality.
The conclusion challenges a widely-held belief among policy makers that one way to help low-income groups is to reduce VAT and other forms of indirect taxation.