> This is similar to how the US makes sales tax visible to the payer, rather than hiding them behind an invisible VAT. It's about transparency. Here in Germany

> This is similar to how the US makes sales tax visible to the payer, rather than hiding them behind an invisible VAT. It's about transparency. Here in Germany, and I believe in all of Europe, every single invoice and receipt I’ve ever received includes both the gross and the net price. It has to because of how VAT can be deducted for business expenses. Similarly my monthly pay slip spells out exactly how much I’ve paid this month for income tax, church tax, solidarity tax (this one is related to the German reunification), health insurance, retirements insurance and unemployment insurance. It also includes how much I’ve in the year up to today. Nothing is hidden and most folks know very well how much they’re paying at least in aggregate. We just don’t make it difficult to pay.