The UK should not lower VAT rates

I. What is a VAT?The VAT, short for "value added tax", is a modern day consumption levy on manufacturers. The government will factor in all the goods or items that went into making a product, and in the UK, will take 20%, 5%, or 0%, of the cost of all those goods. The method for doing this, is a little confusing for many. The "value added" is then factored into the products cost (A method used by sellers in the EU), which leaves the consumer paying the 5% levy.I wanted to clarify this, as many get very confused when you try to explain VAT's to them. II. Examples of VAT'sI feel like I still need to give some examples before I begin my arguments. Let's say the materials for a classic radio costs 10$. The government will levy 20% of that item, which in this case, would be equivalent to 2$. The system, in actuality, is 1$ for every 5$ in prices. Here's another example, of one levied at 5%. A canned food item costs 1$ to manufacture, so the government will simply levy 5% of that, and receive .20$.III. VAT rates explained20%: Milk, Pop, Alcohol, pornography, or any item not needed for survival.5%: Sanitation, generator, air conditioning, or items that have importance, but are amenities.0%: Food, drinks, meat, tools, insurance, or things that are required to grow, live, or are entitled to. IV. The Average VAT rateThe average value tax is usually pretty low. For most transactions, most people are only paying 5% or 0% for items, although luxury goods cost 20%, these are consumed far less. In addition, citizens aren't even paying the full cost. They are paying that of manufacturing cost, so basically, you can expect to pay about .25$, or no money at all on most purchases. Like the US, the United Kingdom does not force VAT's on food or basic items, which means the poor are hardly affected under the VAT.V. Why the UK needs a high VATThe required VAT rate for all EU nations is 15%, although many nations also used reduced cost VAT's (The EU policy is ridiculous here). The UK actually charges less than the rest of the EU for commonly needed products. The reason the VAT is so important, is because the UK, unlike other nations, has not recovered from the recession yet.Their economy is growing, and a lot faster than it used to, but it is still very hurt, and government revenue is falling. It needs to recover all the money it lost during the recession, so they can have surplus for the upcoming economic boom. The UK VAT is the third largest source of profit, after the Corporate and Income taxes. With the extra 2.5% raise in the VAT (Highest rate), the UK has billions more being funneled into the economy. The UK needs to save now, and have that money stockpiled for the next two years. Governments are wise to have large surpluses when the economy is healthy, so they are not forced to tax booms. With the economy on the up, consumption is increasing, and with it, welfare programs that are helping the disenfranchised greatly.VI. Most people are doing fine with higher VAT'sThe UK system for the VAT is a wise one. There are still some qwerks that I think the UK is behind on, and the US model is much better suited for my tastes, but for the most part, it's a good system. The rates are designed to catch people with the extra money to pay VAT's, and the poor who need to preserve it most are targeted the least. This means the UK is collecting revenue from the right people. VII. The problem isn't high rates As I already stated, the VAT's are being used quite wisely. I do concede that there are some problems with certain products. The issue isn't how much were taxing, but what were taxing. I would argue that instead of lowering rates, we recategorize current listings. This way we are helping the government grow and not regressing commonly consumed items.VIII. A third solution Simply add another rate. There is no need to lower current rates, when we can simply make a new classification. Preferably at 15%. My point, is that there are more viable solutions to reforming VAT than just lowering taxes, and my opponent must also prove these are not as viable.