That reminded me of the time that I had to pay an environmental levy on an old fashioned analogue clock that didn't even come with batteries. It made positively no sense to me since that clock will last for years and contained few toxic materials while disposable electronics (like these portable music players) that are throw away items with much more hazardous materials in them aren't levied. At least not visibly. Taxes rarely seem to make sense even when their purpose is clear.

Yet, on the whole, I agree with that EU treaty bit. Provided that the VAT is consistent across the EU. After all, it helps to avoid the situation where consumers buy from jurisdictions with lower or no VAT simply because there is a lower or not VAT. Buying from those jurisdictions creates at least two problems. The first is that it pillages from government resources in your own jurisdiction because you aren't contributing to the funding of those programs. The second is that it provides other jurisdictions with a competitive advantage that reduces the opportunities for employment in your own jurisdiction because those other regions (likely) have lower employment standards and standards of living.