[Mechanical9]

VAT has other benefits though that would fix a lot of weirdness that traditional sales tax has. Taxing the value added makes a lot more sense than taxing the "sale", IMO. It distributes the tax fairly among all businesses in the supply chain and eliminates double-taxing that can happen when the local mom and pop shop resells soda from Sam's Club.

[Amezarak]

There is of course no national US sales tax and every state does it differently - some even have no sales tax at all - but generally speaking, it’s already structured to prevent double-taxing situations like the one you’re describing (plus groceries are usually exempt anyway in both cases.)

The issue is VAT is astronomical compared to the US and hits the poor hardest because consumption taxes are regressive. If it were more apparent on on pricing how much was tax, I could see people who make that argument here having a point. I find it hard to believe Europeans would not blink at seeing such a regressive tax day after day.

[lozenge]

It doesn't really matter how regressive an individual tax is as it's part of a larger system.

You don't just pay regressive VAT, you also benefit from progressive income tax, progressive education and health policies, etc.