VAT stands for value added tax and it's like a fixed sales tax. In Europe and here in the Caribbean (and probably other places) the VAT/sales tax is the same across the board so it's included in the price of an item from the get go. Retailers are required to register with the tax authorities so that when they collect the VAT, they correctly pass on the tax they collect to the proper authorities. I'm not sure what the trendsmood site is about but that's what the VAT Id number is. Although, we know makeup is just makeup, if you're passionate about something, you will be upset. Some people take it too far of course but most of what I've seen, it's customers trying to let MAC know that their business practices are just plain wrong. With the wealth of knowledge circulated on specktra, we know that not even MAC internally knows what's going on (MAC chat, MAC instore SAs, etc.) so that girl is just a douchebag in my opinion.