What are Tax, VAT, GST?

Generally speaking, tax, GST and VAT all serve a similar purpose. They are amounts added on to the price of a product or service as required by government tax regulations. As a seller, you are required to remit certain amount to the government relating to the taxes collected. As there are many different countries and types of product, there are many different method to calculate the final VAT/GST/tax amount. Some countries, including many in Europe, do it simply just by simply adding a % to the price of the product or service. Other countries, such as USA and China, because of their vast territories and decentralized governments, charge a % for the entire country, a % for the county and in some case a specific % for the city. Some products like food in Europe are taxed at a lower rate, and others are more highly taxed, like alcohol and cigarettes.