who has the highest sales tax in the nation
Sales taxes in the United States Since January 2017, 5 states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon) do not levy a statewide sales tax,[1] while California has the highest state sales tax with a base rate of 7.25%. (the territory of Puerto Rico has a higher 10.5% value added tax since April 2016).[2][3] In some states such as California, counties and cities impose additional sales taxes, and total sales taxes can be over 11%.
Value-added tax Value-added tax avoids the cascade effect of sales tax by taxing only the value added at each stage of production. For this reason, throughout the world, VAT has been gaining favor over traditional sales taxes. In principle, VAT applies to all provisions of goods and services. VAT is assessed and collected on the value of goods or services that have been provided every time there is a transaction (sale/purchase). The seller charges VAT to the buyer, and the seller pays this VAT to the government. If, however, the purchasers are not the end users, but the goods or services purchased are costs to their business, the tax they have paid for such purchases can be deducted from the tax they charge to their customers. The government only receives the difference; in other words, it is paid tax on the gross margin of each transaction, by each participant in the sales chain.