"My original point was that I have come to believe that you can't have a large drop in prices with the NRST without a drop in wages"
Sure you can.
LEVEL 1
Price 115
Cost 100
Pre-tax Profit 17 14.8%
Tax (30%) 5.1
After Tax Profit 11.9 10.35%
Tax (Cum) 5.1 4.43%
LEVEL 2
Price 135.5
Cost 115
Pre-tax Profit 20.5 15.1%
Tax (30%) 6.15
After Tax Profit 14.35 10.59%
Tax (Cum) 11.25 8.30%
LEVEL 3
Price 159.5
Cost 135.5
Pre-tax Profit 24 15.0%
Tax (30%) 7.2
After Tax Profit 16.8 10.53%
Tax (Cum) 18.45 11.57%
That is 11 1/2% based on corporate income taxes alone going only 3 levels deep in the supply chain. Many manufactured products go much deeper than 3 levels. This does not even count compliance costs, which under the current system are staggering, nor the employers portion of payroll taxes.
Sorry I couldn't get the columns to line up.
Good example, but what if you took it the other way? Examine the cumulative savings of tax on the final purchaser of a bicycle perhaps?
LEVEL 1
Price 115
Cost 100
Pre-tax Profit 17 14.8%
Sorry about the math error. If the price were changed to 117, the pre-tax profit margin would be 14.5%.