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Research has suggested that a value-added tax (VAT), a broad based consumption tax, is a good source of tax revenue. However, if a country is to realize the benefits derived from implementing such a tax, the VAT system must be well designed and administered. This study examines the -performance of the VAT in Barbados by using efficiency ratios, as well as the responsiveness of taxes to changes in income over the period 1980 to 2011. The analysis of the paper is divided into two time periods from 1980 to 1996 when the consumption tax was the principle component of indirect taxes; then from 1997 to 2011 when the VAT was the largest source of indirect tax revenue.