in concept, all vat that the end customer pays goes to the government. kenderina is describing the complex mechanism that is in place to pay and recoup tax at each step of the value chain. this does not change the concept that all you pay goes to the government....vat is a tax bourne entirely by the end/retail customer.

Last figures I saw, French minimum wage is a lot higher than the the Federal minimum wage in the US. And the Federal min. wage in the US is not the minimum wage that waiters are allowed to be paid, which can be a lot lower, depending on state.

The French minimum wage was raised to 8.63 euro as of May 1, 2008. The US min. wage will be $6.55 as of July 2008, I think. The US minimum wage for tipped employees ranges from about $2.13 (the Federal minimum allowed) to $8, depending on state. Where I live in Maryland, it is only $3.08. In Wash DC it is only $2.77. In New York, it is only $4.60 for food service workers.

So if you tip 20 pct in Wash DC, the waiter is getting a whole lot less even with tip than in France.

well, I wasn't thinking quite right on the tipping in US, it would depend on how much business they had per hour, of course.

Well, say it as you like. But what you call "the government" , are everyone of us. Kerouac said it allright

The French minimum wage was raised to 8.63 euro as of May 1, 2008.

but all fulltime workers i believe also get full benefits and a job guarantee - unlike American minimum wage jobs

and i'd bet few professional waiters get only minimum wage where most here do i believe