The dishonest claims such as that income taxes are included in prices make me very doubtful about the sales tax. That and the fact that the ACTUAL tax is almost 30% rather than 23. If the proponents cannot understand basic economics enough to know how prices are derived I have zero confidence in their ability to understand taxation and its impact on the economy.
Income taxes are just one of the many expenses business must pay in order to stay solvent.
All expenses, including business income taxes, are paid by individuals - not by business. Business just collects tax and remits as an unfunded mandate.
Business taxes and tax costs (along with all othe expenses) are collected in higher prices, lower wages, or reduced ROI.
Lowering wages and reducing ROI cannot be sustained - they are emergency measures for increasing cash flow temporarily - but a business cannot keep employees at below-market wages, nor can business keep attracting investors at below-market returns. The only indefinite stream of cash flow to pay expenses comes from sales revenues.
So expenses are in prices - expenses include taxes and tax costs.
Regarding the rate - it can be expressed tax inclusive like the income and payroll taxes are expressed - in which case the tax would be 23%. The rate can also be expressed like a sales tax in which case it is appx 30% (29.87%). Both represent the same amount of tax. For example, if you buy a $100 item and $23 of it is tax, the rate can be expressed as 23/100 or as 23/77. Take your pick. I use both rates. Note that they both represent $23 of tax.
Speaking of understanding prices, those not in the real world but rather in a textbook frequently misunderstand the theories as they apply.
Anyone makes a decision as to whether a given return is sufficient to produce - if I know my return will be diminished by expenses, I will require an increased return to perform - increased to the extent that the reduction due to expenses (or anticipated expenses)still leaves sufficient return to induce my production.
That the textbooks in which you reside are theoretical and not practical has always been trivially obvious.