[Wolferz]

No, there is no value added tax here in the states. Maybe in a few states there is but not on a national level.
Excise taxes were instituted primarily to fund specific departments and agencies within the government. Like taxes on alcohol, tobacco and firearms are meant to fund the ATF. Fuel taxes are meant to maintain our roads. Two hundred years and a lot of mismanagement later, it's a bloody mess with no end in sight.
Income taxes were said to have been created to pay off the war debt from WWI. A blatant lie to be sure. Income taxes were actually instituted to pay the interest on the government' loans after they took us off the gold standard and created the modern form of the treasury. Which is actually twelve privately owned banks. Can you smell the bailout?