I mean, there are countries where tourists don’t have to pay tax on top of items (meaning they pay for it tax free given if they presented their passport upon purchase proving they’re merely only a visitor, that won’t work on expats though). Those countries usually have tax refunds when visitors are leaving (basically reclaiming VAT whilst at the airport).


The UK used to allow VAT refunds for tourists, but Great Britain stopped doing it a few years ago. Now tourists pay the VAT just like residents do. Northern Ireland still allows it (for non-EU residents, I believe.)