Zathras
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2006
- Messages
- 2,088
Actually, in a pure VAT, you don't see it. A little is added at every stage of the process, from the manufacturer to the wholesaler to the retailer. The end consumer will not generally see all those taxes listed. They *might* see the tax added in the final stage of distribution (from the retailer to the consumer), but not the taxes built into the price before then.
In a national sales tax, on the other hand, you would see the tax specifically listed as a line item. Which is one reason I would prefer that to a VAT if we had to have one or the other. A VAT makes it easier to "hide" the taxes, much as with the gas tax where the price at the pump includes the tax which isn't separately listed.
Hmmm, seems the implementation of how it is 'reported' to the consumer will determine how well the transparency issue works.