Visiting Iceland is sort of like being trapped in an airport … except this airport has volcanoes.
Like most countries, Iceland has a valued-added tax, or VAT. The VAT for goods in Iceland is 24 percent, while the VAT for foodstuffs is taxed at a discounted rate of 11 percent. (However, while taxes are a contributor, they are not the cause of high costs in Iceland. Many countries have similarly high VAT rates and are not as expensive.)
Source: Mentalfloss
