You know, I've brought a lot of arguments against the NRST in my time (back when I was "Uriel1975"). I am convinced that some of my arguments are still economically-valid (such as my argument for the "purchasing advantage" that Public Sector Demand would enjoy over Private Sector Demand under an NRST); I just now think that the benefits of the NRST vastly outweigh such abstruse and hard-to-calculate "disadvantages".
One of my more economically-intricate arguments was that the NRST would "disadvantage" the Tax Free Municipal market (I think you'll remember that one, "ancient geezer")... except that the recent "bubble" in Treasury Bond prices has left Triple-A-insured Tax Free Municipals yielding more than Treasuries!! (Meaning two things: 1. my earlier argument against the NRST no longer holds any water, and 2. smart American investors should sell their taxable Treasuries to the stupid Japanese and buy Triple-A-insured Tax Free Municipals instead).
I am glad to say, however, that I never once offered the ridiculous (no offense, "Palmer") argument that under an NRST, "everyone would have to report all their purchases".
That's like saying that "under a State Sales Tax, I would have to file a form with the Statehouse every time I buy a cheeseburger from McDonalds".
Meaning no offense to anyone, it's a dumb and silly argument.
No offense taken, I am simply trying to understand how compliance will be enforced. The way I see it, there are three possibilities:
1. retailers report gross sales honestly, or
2. everyone reports all their purchases, or
3. all domestically built and imported products are tracked.
Now it appears that the answer is #1.
That's like saying that "under a State Sales Tax, I would have to file a form with the Statehouse every time I buy a cheeseburger from McDonalds".
Good example, except McD's sells an unknownable quantity of cheeseburgers with no price list (everyone negotiates on the spot). The materials McD's uses would not all be easily trackable, no cash registers are used, no sales taxes are charged at time of purchase (calculated from gross receipts instead) and the receipts are put into the cashiers pockets, mixed with their own money and separated at the end of the day. Now tell me what level of compliance you expect and how you would achieve it.