From: VEAL@utkvm1.utk.edu (David Veal)
Subject: Re: National Sales Tax, The Movie
Lines: 27
Organization: University of Tennessee Division of Continuing Education

In article <1993Apr16.170521.21129@midway.uchicago.edu> shou@quads.uchicago.edu (roger colin shouse) writes:
>
>SPEAKING OF VAT:  Did anyone see CNN's report yesterday (4/15)?  It 
>was quite hillarious (no pun intended).  They ran down how a percent tax
>was added at each stage of manufacturing, graphicaly depicting a stack of 
>quarters being added at each wholesale stage.  When they got to the final 
>stage (the actual retail sale) the small stack of quarters added to the
>large stack already there was said to be "the amount paid by consumers."
>In other words, they completed ignored the fact that at each stage the
>tax would of course be passed on to the next buyer with the retail consumer
>paying the full load.
>
>These are not journalists--they're lap dogs.

      One of the commentators on one of the Big Three news programs 
described the VAT (which ain't a sales tax) as a tax "government's love."
I was even surprised he got the reason right:  it effectively hides the
majority of the tax the consumer has to pay *from* the consumer.  It's
kind of like they do with cars.  You pay far more for automobile taxes than
most people realize because it's contained in two dozen different taxes,
everything from your license to your tires to your gasoline.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Veal Univ. of Tenn. Div. of Cont. Education Info. Services Group
PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu - "I still remember the way you laughed, the day
your pushed me down the elevator shaft;  I'm beginning to think you don't
love me anymore." - "Weird Al"
