Most countries on earth--US being a notable exception--have a better version of this: the VAT. It's a very elegant tax on paper, but significantly complicated

Most countries on earth--US being a notable exception--have a better version of this: the VAT. It's a very elegant tax on paper, but significantly complicated from an accounting POV. It's one of those areas where there are huge gains to be had from digitizing financial records, and countries that have succeeded in this (like Mexico) create a very powerful revenue source.