The elimination of discriminatory value added tax (VAT) laws on commodities are required for the proper functioning of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) single market. The proper functioning of a single market entails the elimination of discriminatory internal VAT regulations of imported goods or services. Hence, the purpose of this study is to empirically examine the need for harmonizing VAT legislation among GCC countries. The data of this study was collected through a variety of sources, including the ministry's website, VAT law for each country, published articles, and other online data sources/websites with regards to VAT. The data were statistically evaluated using Microsoft Excel. The dependent variable in this study is Harmonization. The factors affecting Value Added Tax Legislation are also called independent variables. Through this search, they harmonize VAT legislation in the GCC countries to maximize the effectiveness of tax laws. That helps to know the challenges faced by GCC companies due to discriminatory VAT regulations and double taxation.  There is a need to harmonize VAT legislation in the GCC countries to maximize the effectiveness of tax laws. This study adds value by assessing the present state and the need for harmonizing VAT legislation in the GCC countries. The timely approach of the study will help policymakers, regulators, and practitioners to understand the importance of harmonizing VAT legislation in the GCC.

Purpose This study aims to compare recent topics on value-added tax (VAT) in the European Union (EU) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), understand the differences in VAT discourses between the two regions and explore the connection between research agendas, institutional legacies and semantic output in the field of VAT in each territory. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric study was conducted using R programming. The data were gathered from the Scopus database, which contains 99 English-language publications with publication dates ranging from 1996 to 2022 (87 of which are from the EU and 12 from the GCC). Information about publications, journals, authors and citations is gathered, validated, cross-referenced and analyzed using bibliometric metrics. Findings The results highlight two ideal research contexts for studying VAT: the EU countries approach VAT research with a centralized, pluralistic and quantitative focus, while the GCC countries adopt a centralized, qualitative and practically oriented approach, highlighting distinct research goals, collaboration styles and institutional legacies. The authors extend their result findings to broader discussions on competing knowledge systems in VAT, the significance of the state and the level of autonomy within tax governance after identifying the most popular issues among scholars working in GCC and EU countries. Research limitations/implications Although the focus of this analysis is restricted to the GCC and EU, it includes theoretical recommendations for broadening its application to other nations. Researchers from the GCC and the EU may benefit from this study by gaining more about VAT and being encouraged to share their research with young researchers. The study’s findings are relevant and important for comprehending the comparative state of research on VAT in GCC and EU countries, tax fields, publications and institutions. Originality/value This study analyzes the VAT systems of the GCC and the EU while identifying the intellectual structure of the field from each author’s point of view, revealing the scientometrics and informetrics intellectual structures in detail.