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If exporting said pesticide was banned, people would be blaming EU for famine instead. Regarding your example, I have a concrete counterexample: Companies are already receiving blame for throwing expired food in the trash compactor instead of donating it to food banks.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

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You know why throwing away even good food is preferable to donating it? Because if you throw it away you just account for it as a loss, but if you donate it you still owe the government the VAT just like if you sold it.

I'm sure this is not how VAT works where I live. You only owe tax on the value you added. If you give it away, value added is zero. It's in the name!

I know it's how it works in Portugal and I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of some EU tax directive that it's like that. There are some exceptions, ofcourse.

That's surprising! So say I buy a bunch of produce from a farmer for my shop in Portugal. In the case where I sell it I'd expect to pay VAT on my margin. But how would my accounting differ between putting it in trash bags and putting it in a box labeled "free"?

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