VATupdate Newsletter Week 10 2026

MONOPOLY

We publish a lot of VAT news on our website. And every week, we show you the full list of everything we posted. But the list seems to be getting longer each week, and not everyone wants to scroll through a tax scroll of biblical length.

So, in the coming weeks, we’ll do things a little differently: instead of showing you every single post, we’ll give you a curated selection of the items published last week. If you’re interested in more news from a particular country or topic, you can always visit the website and filter or search as you like. [ Check this post to see how you can use the search-function ]

This week, we still have quite a full package for you. Here’s a selection of recent VAT caselaw:

ECJ C-472/24 (Zaidimu valiuta): VAT exemption denied for transactions involving virtual game currency.
ECJ C-436/24 (Lyko Operations): Loyalty points in customer reward schemes do not qualify as VAT vouchers.
ECJ C-409/24 to C-411/24: Reduced VAT rate excludes non-accommodation ancillary services supplied by landlords.
United Kingdom: UK Supreme Court judgment on input VAT on professional fees related to share sales held irrecoverable for holding companies.
Netherlands: Dutch Supreme Court refers VAT deduction dispute on mixed costs in financial instruments to the Court of Appeal in The Hague.

The first ECJ case especially caught my attention. We’ve discussed this before: how do you treat virtual currency for VAT purposes? Not crypto, but game money. The “gold” you buy to purchase skins, weapons, or other shiny digital items in an online game. According to the ECJ, these supplies are taxable transactions and therefore subject to VAT.

So, let’s take that idea and jump to the boardgame Monopoly. Where do we stand there?

I think we all agree that Monopoly money isn’t real money. It can only be used within the game. If you tried to sell those coloured bills to someone in real life, you’d get exactly nowhere.

But that brings me to something else. Imagine playing Monopoly in the least strategic way possible: you never buy property, never invest, never build a single house or hotel. You just stroll around the board, collecting $200 each time you pass Go, paying rent to the already rich, and trying to avoid jail.

That’s how most people live their lives. No assets. No investments. No strategy. Just hoping the dice roll kindly and that Boardwalk is already mortgaged by the time they land on it.

If Monopoly were run under VAT rules, the game would instantly look very different. First, your passive “$200 for passing Go” wouldn’t count as consideration: no supply, no VAT. But the moment you start buying streets and charging rent, congratulations: you’ve become a taxable person. And with those hotel rates on Kalverstraat or Oxford Street, you’d exceed the small-enterprise threshold before finishing your first lap.

Even more fun: imagine if every Chance and Community Chest card were replaced with ECJ case law.

“Advance to the nearest utility and apply the Cussens judgment.”

“You made improvements to someone else’s building: refer to Frenetikexito and adjust input VAT accordingly.”

“You attempted aggressive tax planning. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.”

But here’s the real comparison: too many businesses play VAT like the no-property-buying beginner. They simply “go around,” file their returns, pay what’s due, and hope not to land on the Tax Administration’s version of Income Tax or (worse) Jail. Meanwhile, the smarter players invest in knowledge, understand exemptions, apply the correct place-of-supply rules, and recover the VAT they’re entitled to. The more strategically you handle VAT, the less likely you are to donate metaphorical rent to the rich or incur penalties that feel like landing on Mayfair with a hotel.

VAT isn’t about luck. It’s a rules-based game, much like Monopoly, but with fewer tiny metal tokens and slightly more proportionality under Article 273.

So, as you prepare for the next round of VAT changes and audits, ask yourself:

Are you just passing Go… or are you finally ready to build some VAT hotels?

If you have any comments, questions, or ideas that you want to share with us, please send us an email at [email protected] or leave a comment under the posts of this newsletter on LinkedIn.

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