Almost all countries levy general consumption taxes i.e. taxes on the sale of most goods and services. The general consumption tax applied by the majority of those countries is value added tax (VAT The acronym “VAT” refers to any national tax that embodies the basic features of a value added tax as described in Chapter 1, by whatever name or acronym it is known e.g. “Goods and Services Tax” (“GST”)) i.e. a tax collected at all stages of the processes of production and distribution of goods and services, accumulation of the tax being prevented by allowing businesses to deduct the tax they incur on their inputs from the tax they collect on their outputs. Exports of goods and services are generally within the scope of VAT, although they are commonly zero rated. On the other hand, the importation of goods and services is subject to tax to ensure the neutrality of the tax system (see Chapter 1). A minority of countries (and some sub-national entities) apply retail sales taxes, i.e. single-stage taxes on goods and services supplied to final consumers (these are not listed in the table below). All OECD countries levy VAT, except the United States, where resale sales taxes are levied at sub-national level (see Chapter 1).