An indirect tax is a tax that is levied upon goods and services before they reach the customer who ultimately pays the indirect tax as a part of the market price of the good or service purchased. Indirect taxes are collected by an intermediary, such as a retailer or manufacturer, from the person who pays the tax included in the price of a purchased good. The intermediary later files a tax return and forwards the tax proceeds to the government with the return. Indirect taxes are defined by contrasting them with direct taxes. Indirect taxes can be defined as taxation on an individual or entity, which is ultimately paid for by another person. The body that collects the tax will then remit it to the government. But in the case of direct taxes, the person immediately paying the tax is the person that the government is seeking to tax. Examples of indirect taxes include sales tax, value-added tax (VAT), and excise duties on fuel, liquor, and cigarettes. Indirect taxes are commonly used and imposed by the government to generate revenue. They are essentially fees that are levied equally upon taxpayers, no matter their income, so rich or poor, everyone has to pay them. However, many consider them to be regressive taxes as they can bear a heavy burden on people with lower incomes who end up paying the same amount of tax as those who make a higher income.