Does everyone know about EU VAT rules? And if you run a business do you obey the rules rigorously, even if outside the EU?
For example if you are a US-based company and sell goods/services to a customer in the EU do you add the correct VAT rate for your customer's country and then send that amount to the tax people in that country?
Obviously it's just a protection racket by the EU to pump up the prices of imports. But I'm surprised no one seems to care, either because of the effect it has on sales or because of the paperwork burden.
Or maybe non-EU companies don't bother selling to the EU, just like many non-EU websites are no longer accessible from the EU.