A consumption tax is a tax levied on consumption spending on goods and services. The tax base of such a tax is the money spent on consumption. Consumption taxes are usually indirect, such as a sales tax or a value-added tax. However, a consumption tax can also be structured as a form of direct, personal taxation, such as the Hall–Rabushka flat tax. Types Value-added tax A value-added tax applies to the market value added to a product or material at each stage of its manufacture or distribution. For example, if a retailer buys a shirt for twenty dollars and sells it for thirty dollars, this tax would apply to the ten dollar difference between the two amounts. A simple value-added tax is proportional to consumption but is regressive on income at higher income levels, as consumption tends to fall as a percentage of income as income rises. Savings and investment are tax-deferred until they become consumption. A value-added tax may exclude certain goods to make it less regressive against income. It is common in European Union countries. Value added tax is a consumption based tax and is levied each and every time the value of a good gets increased in the process of manufacturing to the point of sale. In Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and Singapore, it is instead called a "Goods and Services Tax." In Canada it is also called Harmonized Sales Tax when it is combined with a provincial sales tax. Sales tax Sales tax is a consumption tax applicable to sales of goods and services. A sales tax typically applies to the sale of goods, and sometimes includes the sales of services. The tax is applied at the point of sale. The tax amount is usually ad valorem, that is, it is calculated by applying a percentage rate to the price of a sale. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a governing body directly by a consumer, it is usually called a use tax. Often laws provide for the exemption of certain goods or services from such taxes. Laws may allow sellers to itemize the tax separately from the price of the goods or services, or they may require it to be included in the price. Excise tax An excise tax is a sales tax that applies to a specific class of goods, typically alcohol, tobacco, gasoline (petrol), or tourism. The tax