>In the US, the consumer pays sales tax. The retailer collects it and
>passes it along to the state and local govs.
If the retailer actually pays the government, then it is at best a transparent legal fiction that the consumer pays sales tax. In practical terms, unless the merchant pays such taxes, the consumer will not. Even if it is technically the consumer's obligation to file a return and declare the obligation, you wouldn't want to rely on it actually happening. And surely no government revenue office would ever be that stupid.
Additionally of course, if the merchant is responsible for collecting the tax, by adding it to the sale price and responsible for remitting it to the government then in practical terms the consumer will tend to make purchasing decisions having regard to the tax-inclusive price. Not the fictional pre-tax price. (Except for tourists and even they would learn pretty fast.) Which has market implications for the merchant, there is only so much a consumer is prepared to pay for anything and just because the government wants a certain amount from each sale doesn't necessarily mean the merchant can add any more onto the final price.
In that sense, the sense that the merchant normally charges what the market will bear and there's no room to charge extra, whatever sales taxes are prescribed are in a real sense at the expense of the merchant's profit. No matter what the legal fiction might be.
So I'm sorry to have to correct you, but the consumer never pays sales tax in reality. They pay for the goods and services they purchase. Tax is a cost of doing business for the merchant. It really is quite important to understand that, if for no other reason than to avoid getting sucked into anti-tax campaigns organised by various capitalist sectors.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas