"Not compicated by the record keeping required,mind you, just complicated by the difference in the number of people who must comply."
I certainly don't see how that could be the case. As someone who has designed cost accounting systems, I can tell you that keeping track of the raw material and labor costs of a manufactured product which contains hundreds of parts is not trivial. Now we are saying that each and every one of those parts would have its own VAT component which would have to be tracked and input into a computer system separately from its unit cost.
How can you say that a VAT doesn't impose any additional administrative burden?
Yes, sir, you are correct. I should have stated "Not SO MUCH complicated by the record keeping as..."
I was thinking in terms of compliance costs for the whole system, which, with appropirate software, should not be dramatically more for retail companies under a VAT vs under a NRST, however the difference between how many companies must comply under a VAT vs under a NRST is, indeed, dramatic.
I did not mean to suggest the VAT did not complicate record keeping, I was just emphasize the huge difference in how many had to comply. I'm glad you made an issue of it. Someone reading could have been misled by my post.