system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: A graded luxury tax system would be a better alternative to the current system

The UK has VAT, which a 20% tax on all luxury items. There are of course some rules which I don't get, e.g. chocolate covered cakes are not luxury items, but chocolate covered biscuits are, which is why there was a fight over whether Jaffa Cakes are cakes or biscuits. 

There is one big issue I have with VAT being charged though, and also an additional tax which works the same way, and I'll discuss it first. 

Tampons and sanitary towels are charged a "luxury rate" of 5%. I understand both sets of logic over whether this is fair or not, but I think the tax is a good thing, just not in its current form. 

VAT on clothing is my big issue. Children's clothes are not charged VAT, which I'm indifferent on. Adults' clothing, however, is charged VAT. Despite the fact that it is more social acceptable for there to be a naked child than a naked adult, and adults can be arrested for being naked in public. This means that a legal necessity is luxury. 

I propose a graded scale of VAT. 

Let's say your basic tampon is some cotton and a string, plus an applicator. That would be tax-free. Now some companies offer tampons with silk interwoven with the cotton, others have specialist applicators. These would be charged 5% tax as there is no need for silk to be mixed with cotton, and that, IMO at least, is luxury. 

Clothes would be approached differently. Let's say there are 5 different suits on the market. A=£100, B=£350, C=£600, D=£850, E=£1100. With the current VAT set-up, these would cost £120, £420, £720, £1020 and £1320, or £3600. 

My proposed model for this would be to have bands. A (lowest priced 5% of options), B (options which make up the bottom 25%, but aren't in A), C (the middle 50% from top of B to bottom of D), D (the highest 25% which isn't in E) and E (highest 5%) which would be charged tax of 5%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%. In the suit scenario above, the suits would now cost £105, £402.50, £720, £1062.50 and £1430, or £3720 total tax revenue. 

So not only would it ease the burden on lower income individuals and families, it would actually generate more tax revenue for the government. That's why I think my idea is an improvement on the current model. I'd like you to change my view, please.
gpt
Something like this would have to be re-evaluated constantly.  Stores set prices.  How would you decide what the "lowest 5%" are?  

Say you're looking at suits.  What does the lowest 5% mean?  The lowest 5% of all suits?  (What counts as a suit?) The lowest 5% of suits in that store?  (What if all the suits in that store are the same price?) 

Add this to the fact that there are hundreds of places around the UK that sell suits, and can change their prices whenever they want.  

I don't see how something like this could ever be practical.