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OK I admit I was thinking of VAT when I made the comment (I'm in the UK), and also the typical exclusions from VAT for food, books etc and partial liability on
by NeedMoreTea 8y ago
OK I admit I was thinking of VAT when I made the comment (I'm in the UK), and also the typical exclusions from VAT for food, books etc and partial liability on businesses (sales minus allowable purchases).
Undoubtedly a sales tax can be regressive but don't those exceptions move it far enough into being a tax on discretionary purchases? There doesn't seem much anti-VAT feeling in the UK outside of occasional axe-grinding from the popular press.
- ucaetano 8y agoEuropeans have a more friendly relationship with taxes than Americans. But VAT, despite being regressive, is still required, as today we have very complex businesses and you want to prevent gaming, where corporations optimize for allocating their value into a certain channel that is untaxed. For example, by placing their operations in a separate country with lower taxes and shipping from there. So you need income tax, sales/vat tax, and corporate taxes to prevent any gaps.