btw more from GPT . . . total US corporate profits 2.6T/yr.
8% of that would be $200B. Not even a dent in the interest, let alone the debt itself
“total US corporate profits 2.6T/yr. 8% of that would be $200B.”
It would revenue-wise be like an 8% sales tax but is collected as value is added at various stages of production rather than merely at the retail stage.
WIKI
A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product’s production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared with, a sales tax.
VAT can be accounts-based or invoice-based. All VAT-collecting countries except Japan use the invoice method.
Using invoices, each seller pays VAT on their sales and passes the buyer an invoice that indicates the amount of tax paid excluding deductions (input tax). Buyers who themselves add value and resell the product pay VAT on their own sales (output tax). The difference between output tax and input tax is the amount paid to the government (or refunded, in the case of a negative amount).
it is difficult to evade
In France it is the largest source of state finance, accounting for nearly 50% of state revenues.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value-added_tax
“the money it brings in: over 176 billion euros in 2023 – over half of France’s tax revenue”
https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20240410-vat-turns-70-and-still-brings-in-much-of-france-s-tax-revenue