does the united states have a value added tax 
no the united states has no vat the federal government raises money primarily through the income tax system the states and local governments establish and collect their own sales taxes local governments rely primarily on property taxes who benefits from a vat and who doesn t wealthier consumers could ultimately come out ahead if a vat replaced the income tax as with other flat taxes a vat s impact would be felt less by the wealthy and more by the poor who spend most of their income on necessities in short lower income consumers would pay a much higher proportion of their earnings in taxes with a vat system according to critics such as the tax policy center 14can the negative effects of a vat on lower income people be fixed yes to some extent a government can exclude certain basic household goods food products or medicines from the vat or it can charge a substantially lower vat rate it can also provide rebates or credits to low income citizens to offset the effects of the tax 