same VAT to all customers in EU area

[juvar]

This is general question about tax rates. I have freshly installed Zen Cart v1.5.5. Not previous experience about Zen Cart.

Can somebody kindly explain what 'zones' mean and where they are needed? Can I remove them? I have tried everything and still not getting correct tax rates working. When I try to order something with test account I see only zero taxes. If I use quest account, then taxes are visible. My purpose is to get same VAT/TAX to all customers in EU area. (Only retail sale, so VAT must be visible always and everywhere.)

Are those zones also somehow connected to shipping costs calculations? I have one cost per country in EU. How to get it to work? In theory I can hard code it with PHP fairly easily, but that does not feel good because then price is different in database vs. frontend. (I think that very likely accountant does not like it.)

Thank you.

[juvar]

I forgot to tell what I have done this far:

- added 24% VAT tax rate
- added EU countries to somewhere so they are visible in that tax rate. (I dont remember how I did it)

[kernheimer]

did you manage? i am so hopeless about the whole zones and shipping modules. seems that im not alone
But a decent answer i still dont have.
the LBS / KG/ Grams is still a horror to find and replace and than i have no idea how it effects europe zones