Question

One way for the federal government to increase tax revenues would be to enact either a vat or a national retail sales tax. the u.s. sales tax could be collected in the same manner and at the same time as state and local sales taxes. which tax would be less costly for the federal government to implement and administer? which tax would be less likely to cause jurisdictional conflict?

Answer 1

The federal government could avoid creating a new federal agency for collecting the tax. The federal government would have to create a new collection system for a national VAT. A national VAT would be less likely to cause jurisdictional conflict between the federal government and the states because states do not depend on VAT as a source of revenue.