Sales tax is still tax. While they don't personally hand the money to the government it is still coming out of their money. I am not qualified to talk about how

Sales tax is still tax. While they don't personally hand the money to the government it is still coming out of their money. I am not qualified to talk about how the US tax system fits together but I assume that 50% is paying some form of land tax through local government fees that are passed on as an increase in rent. I would also assume they drink or smoke (pretty hefty taxes there too). Consider also that fees are pretty much tax by any other name (they are government revenue), there is a rather large fee to cancel US citizenship.