"They would be between a rock and a hard place trying to avoid legal jeopardy and financial ruin. And they would put pressure on Congress to fix things (we all know how that would go - Congress only seems to "fix" problems by increasing its power and control over us)."
I don't understand how they would face financial ruin. Are you referencing them competing with the black market? If so, then you confused my point. You admit that the manufacturers are not breaking the law because their sale is sold to liscensed retailers. Therefore, the liscensed retailer will be selling the product to the final customer and they will be collecting/remitting the tax.
Remember, if the purchaser from the manufacturer is not liscensed to make business purchases, then the tax would be collected. So, how does the new, untaxed goods, get into the black market?
Previously, you claimed that the black market would grow to such proportion as to bankrupt the economy. How would this growth occur if the manufacturers follow the law and sell to the businesses with liscenses?
"No one -- or very few -- would never submit any tax. Just like now very few people or businesses fail to file a tax return. They just wouldn't necessarily report every transaction that they maybe should have. Maybe it's due to Enron-like cooking the books. Maybe it's just a genuine but different interpretation of the law. You'd have to still have accountants to do your reports."
That isn't the point. Previously you claimed the black market would explode and destroy the economy. It has been pointed out that the legislation currently being discussed accounts for the same rate of avoidance that we see today. Yet you say a major problem with it is that the avoidance would expand exponentially. Now in this post you say it would be "just like now" and they just wouldn't necessarily report every transaction....
Where does your exponential growth of tax avoidance come from?