Conclusion
General, both the VAT system and the retail sales tax system, using the same tax rate, would be considered equivalent in terms of revenue raised. Thus, in the examples discussed above, the entire bread production would result in $50 in VAT, and the grocer selling the bread to the consumer for $500 would result in $50 in retail sales tax. The similarity ends there because in actual practice, VAT and retail sales tax would likely ultimately produce different tax results.
It would be easy to conclude from reports in the business press that merit pay is dead and organizations need to reconstitute pay plans to pay people in some new way. Suggestions include paying employees for the knowledge, shills, abilities and behaviors they bring to the workplace. Although interesting, this call for wholesale reform overlooks fundamental tenets of economic and behavioral theories.