The Commission has launched plans for the biggest reform of EU VAT rules in a quarter of a century. The reboot announced on 4 October would improve and modernise the system for governments and businesses alike. Overall, over EUR 150 billion of VAT is lost every year. Of this, around EUR 50 billion - or EUR 100 per EU citizen each year - is estimated to be due to cross-border VAT fraud. This money can be used to finance criminal organisations, including terrorism. It is estimated that this sum would be reduced by 80% thanks to the proposed reform. The proposed VAT reform would also make the system more robust and simpler to use for companies across borders. Businesses trading cross-border currently suffer from 11% higher compliance costs compared to those trading only domestically. Simplifying and modernising VAT should reduce these costs by an estimated EUR 1 billion.