[lelanthran]

> Why VAT?

> This is a little harder but not too hard: Because it’s the mirror of UBI. The UBI will fund consumption, VAT taxes consumption.

This is dumb; there's literally no other way to put it!

VAT is a tax exemption on the rich; that's all it is.

[mort96]

100%, VAT is a regressive tax. Poor people use a large portion of their wealth on products and services. Rich people use a much, much smaller portion of their wealth on those things.

Plus rich people all have companies pay for a lot of their stuff. Need a new laptop? Buy it through your company. Internet and cellular plan? Company. New cell phone? Company. Many even have their cars paid by an compaby. All those purchases through your company are VAT exempt. Poor people buy their own laptops and their own cell phones and have their own Internet subscription and cell plan and car. They pay the VAT.

I'm in Norway, where the standard VAT rate is at 25%. I don't understand how such a vast regressive tax is so uncontroversial here. Get rid of it and replace it with a larger wealth and capital gains tax.