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Dutch Wrote: Yes the VAT is used in Europe for many years; that's why social services are great; the tax is 21% right now, but is not noticed because you don't see it in your bill/receipt. Even then things are even cheaper than here, like medicines, groceries etc.
I'm not saying a VAT is the be all and end all, but it is definitely worthy of debate.
Prescription drugs are cheaper in European countries because their governments have a single-payer healthcare system and place strict price controls on pharmaceutical drugs. However, that has nothing to do with a VAT.
Groceries are also comparable in price to the states because most grocery items have a dramatically reduced VAT, or no VAT at all. If we ever got off our ass and passed a VAT here in America then I would hope for the same thing. A VAT shouldn't screw over a single mother trying to feed her children and the vast majority of countries that have a VAT recognize that.
Dutch Wrote: Sorry this country has a lot to learn, but refuses it.
Every country has a lot to learn, but the vast majority of countries don't have over 330 million people living in it. And by vast, I mean every country other than China and India. Germany comes in at number 16 and the United Kingdom comes in at number 21, but their populations are dwarfed by the number of people living in the US.
A country of 330 million people is much more difficult to govern than a country of 81 million (Germany). Not just that, but this country of 330 million people is comprised of individuals of all races and ethnicity's while most European countries are comprised of a cultural majority with a minority of immigrants that are often subjected to second and third-class status.
That's all I'm trying to get across. We live in a frustratingly complex world.