Isn't that the way it already is, for the most part? Granted there are some things that aren't taxed this way (land & food come to mind), but for the most part

Isn't that the way it already is, for the most part? Granted there are some things that aren't taxed this way (land & food come to mind), but for the most part, as money flows through the system, it is taxed. Buy a laptop for $1,000: * That comes out of money you've been paid, presumably, so in 43 US states, you've paid income tax already on it, and your company has paid payroll taxes. * 45 US states charge sales tax, so you pay sales tax. * If you paid with a credit card, a cut of your transaction goes to the credit card company, who pays taxes on their profits from that transaction. * The money is transferred to a bank account, and that bank is taxed on the profit that they make from that deposit. * The laptop company pays taxes on the profits that they make from that laptop (depending on where they're located, but if it was sold in the USA, they pay taxes). * Any shipping company involved moving that merchandise around paid taxes on the profits they made. * The company that brought the laptop into the USA pays the import taxes/tariffs associated with it. Just at a glance, every time something changed hands, it is taxed. And this doesn't get into things like excise tax, which are even more fun.