Well, who pays tax is kind-of a complicated question. VAT is collected at many points along the supply chain (and sales tax typically at just one). But who pays economically depends on a bunch of elasticities: if the consumers will buy X at any price, then the tax lands on them, whereas if they will only pay at maximum Y (otherwise they go without) then the tax lands on the seller. (But in reality, nothing is at either endpoint.)
