I'm not, nor is anyone else. But everyone else sees that the $23,000 does not get reported in either system. That doesn't change.
What does change is that the drug dealer begins paying his full share of taxes under the nrst. Under the income tax, he only pays a portion of his share- the part embedded in prices.
You're the only one who is so blind not to see this.
The $23,000 goes unreported in either system, duh. That's one of the reasons it's called an illegal transaction.
Beyond that, you have a fundmental misunderstanding about who pays the nrst. It is not business, it is the consumer. You're so stuck in the mindset of income taxes that a myopia blinds you to things others see as obvious (big surpirse).
Open your eyes.
But your analysis assumes ALL taxes are embedded in the final costs of goods and services, so the drug dealer is in fact paying the same under either system. You guys talk in circles and deny the basic truth.
The consumer pays in the income tax system too, it is just the retailer, distribution people, manufacturer and their employees who actually remit the tax under the income tax. It is no different except in the sales tax, it is only the retailer who remits the lump sum of all the taxes.