[Paladin2]

The gov’ts collecting sales tax at every taxable transaction proves the concept.

[Svartalfiar]

The gov’ts collecting sales tax at every taxable transaction proves the concept.

The government does not collect sales tax at every sale. In fact, the government collects almost no sales taxes except for after the fact. The company applies a percentage surcharge (same way they apply a military discount or similar), and at the end of the night when the PoS software runs it's end-of-night reporting, it adds all that up. The business then files a return, and depending on State/size/other factors, may file monthly, quarterly, or other. It's not like every bill of sale is submitted to some government agency who then calculates the sales tax on it. The business just adds 8.25% (or whatever) to your bill on items listed in the computer as taxable.

Similar if you buy a car in a personal transaction. You, the buyer, aren't charged sales tax until you try to register the vehicle, and the State will charge you based on your reported purchase price.