[MSF BU]

A VAT would capture a lot revenue from folks in the black economy; the problem is that much of it would be wasted, as it is now.

[OldDeckHand]

"A VAT would capture a lot revenue from folks in the black economy"

How so? Why would a VAT, or any tax, capture revenue from the distribution of illegal goods, in a illegal supply chain, illegally distributed to retail buyers?

It seems to me that one of the primary goals of the black market is to avoid things precisely like VATs.