Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 25327694, member: 27832&quot;]Wow, just when I think I might be starting to understand the idea of VAT...</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s supposed to be a tax paid at each stage of production based on the value <i>added</i> to a product in that stage, right? So, basically a tax on <i>profit</i> at each stage, credited back when the product is sold onward. But the entire VAT is due when the item is sold for &quot;final consumption&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>So... what does it mean to &quot;consume&quot; a collectable coin? <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Can you claw back the VAT you paid if <i>you</i> sell the coin back to a dealer, then, or on to another collector?</p><p><br /></p><p>Here in the US, we generally pay somewhere in the range of 5%-10% sales tax on the total value of a purchase. Non-local (interstate or international mail-order/Internet shopping) is taxed at the time of sale now; not long ago, it wasn&#039;t, with most states requiring people to report the amount they spent on mail-order/Internet shopping and pay sales tax (&quot;use tax&quot;) on it. You can imagine how low the level of compliance was under <i>that</i> policy. So, now it&#039;s enforced at time of sale, imposing great expense on sellers who need to compute effective sales tax for every state, city, county, or other tax-levying jurisdiction in the entire country. In practice, sellers engage a service that takes care of that calculation, &quot;for a reasonable fee&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our effective tax rate is lower than yours. On the other hand, we pay thousands to tens of thousands of dollars a year for &quot;medical insurance&quot;, partly subsidized by our employer if we&#039;re lucky enough to have one, and can <i>still</i> be bankrupted by medical expenses from a single auto accident (and you know how we love our automobiles). Which is better? Depends on how many coins you buy, and how many accidents you&#039;re involved in, I suppose...[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in