# Sales Tax

*Taxes — Finicade finance glossary*

Sales tax is a single-stage tax collected at the final retail sale, used at state and local level across the US with rates that vary by city. Because it's added at the register rather than shown in the shelf price, American consumers see the tax and Europeans usually don't — a genuine difference in how visible the burden feels. It's regressive, and exemptions for groceries and medicine are the standard offset.

**Also known as:** retail sales tax, state sales tax, use tax

**Related terms:** [Value Added Tax (VAT)](https://finicade.com/glossary/value-added-tax), [Regressive Tax](https://finicade.com/glossary/regressive-tax), [Excise Tax](https://finicade.com/glossary/excise-tax), [Property Tax](https://finicade.com/glossary/property-tax), [Cost of Living](https://finicade.com/glossary/cost-of-living)

Source: https://finicade.com/glossary/sales-tax