Teejay
Gone Fishin'
When Richard Nixon became President in 1968, his administration considered a federal Consumption or Value Added Tax (VAT), under which revenue to be shared with state and local governments to reduce their reliance on property taxes and to fund education spending.
A task force was established to consider the introduction of such a tax, most of them reported back that VAT shouldn't be adopted as a substitute, in whole or in part, for the existing federal tax structure. The POD is that this task force recommended that a VAT be introduced, to replace some federal taxes (including the Gasoline Tax and various duties). So by the end of the 20th century both the federal and many state governments (which come around to conclude a VAT is more efficient in revenue collection than sales taxes) have combined VAT rates between 10-20%.
Could some US states instead of having state income and company taxes, instead rely on a VAT for a big slice of their revenue?
A task force was established to consider the introduction of such a tax, most of them reported back that VAT shouldn't be adopted as a substitute, in whole or in part, for the existing federal tax structure. The POD is that this task force recommended that a VAT be introduced, to replace some federal taxes (including the Gasoline Tax and various duties). So by the end of the 20th century both the federal and many state governments (which come around to conclude a VAT is more efficient in revenue collection than sales taxes) have combined VAT rates between 10-20%.
Could some US states instead of having state income and company taxes, instead rely on a VAT for a big slice of their revenue?