the pros and cons of VAT

LIBERALS oppose a value-added tax because it falls more heavily on the poor. Conservatives oppose it because it is a money machine. Larry Summers, Barack Obama’s chief economic adviser, once predicted that America would get a VAT when the two sides reversed positions. That moment may be approaching. Several prominent liberals and a handful of conservatives now see it as the most promising way to raise revenue, reduce the deficit and make the tax system more efficient.

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