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But if both the doctor and drug dealer are going to buy a Mercedes, they will both be paying the same sales tax and the drug dealer WILL be taxed. If you have money, no matter how you got it, you will spend money. If you spend money, you will be taxed.

This is really silly. The problem is not when they spend it. The doctor has to remit sales tax on his gross receipts, and drug dealer does not. The drug dealer gets to pocket all of his receipts. The drug dealer has 23% more money to spend than the doctor. That is where the drug dealer cheats the sales tax system, which is about identicle to how he cheats the income tax.

The drug dealer gets to pocket all of his receipts.

Yep just as he does today under the income/payroll tax system.

That is where the drug dealer cheats the sales tax system, which is about identicle to how he cheats the income tax.

As you point out.

The difference lay when he purchases anything under the NRST from a legitimate business.

That drugdealer/consumer then pays the full tax. Under the income tax system today, when buying the same thing, he pays only that portion of federal tax per-se that happens to get passed on in the prices of goods and services.

This is really silly. The problem is not when they spend it. The doctor has to remit sales tax on his gross receipts, and drug dealer does not. The drug dealer gets to pocket all of his receipts. The drug dealer has 23% more money to spend than the doctor. That is where the drug dealer cheats the sales tax system, which is about identicle to how he cheats the income tax.

Not really. The drug dealer is never going to pay any tax on his receipts. Let me give you a better example. Here in Southern California there is a massive underground enonomy. Both legal and illegal immigrants from Mexico work jobs that pay cash. Some are gardeners, housekeepers, construction laborers, etc. This has been going on for decades. They never pay income tax and never will and in many cases they are considered day laborers and their employers are not required to withhold taxes. They are eligible for food stamps because of no documentable income, and if they are paid by check, there are dozens of liquor and grocery stores that will cash them. I have seen it hundreds of times. In fact, there are stores I will avoid on certain days because of the large number of people in line waiting to cash their checks. They are always "even dollars" like $300, $250, something like that. They are never for $321.45 or some odd amount so you know there are no taxes being withheld from them.

The point here is that you can never stop people from cheating if they are inclined to cheat. BUT you can collect taxes from them when they make purchases from legitimate retailers. In you example sure, the Dr. has less spendable income. But when the drug dealer has to go to the Dr., he IS going to pay at least something.

The doctor has to remit sales tax on his gross receipts, and drug dealer does not.

No, just the sales tax that is swown on the receipts.