Incorrect. I own an Estonian (an EU member) company that can sell stuff and offer services without VAT. VAT is actually optional until a certain revenue threshold.
(PS: the coolest one I've seen is that bound physical books often have much better tax rates than other goods, leading to hilarious situations where shipping someone a physical pamphlet that includes base64 might be much cheaper than selling them an expensive piece of software on CD. ;P)
Effectively the same I know...
For example, admission to a charitable event is VAT exempt in the UK, while goods sold at a charity shop are zero-rated.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/goods-services....