Taxpayers may be under the impression that their pockets have suffered an increasing attention from their countries’ administrations. They are right to complain. The average standard VAT rate in the EU has risen strongly since 2008. In 2012, the standard VAT rate varies from 15.0% in Luxembourg and 17.0% in Cyprus to 27.0% in Hungary and 25.0% in Denmark and Sweden,  data from the 2012 edition of taxation trends in the European…