Liberia, March 25 -- I had just stopped at a supermarket in Jacob's Town on Monday evening (March 23) to pick up a few items when a middle-aged man approached me-someone who seemed to know me far better than I knew him. We exchanged pleasantries.

Mr. Sengbeh... I saw your LRA people today in two pickups, moving around, creating awareness. They said you're bringing a new tax system... VAT." I nodded and told him that the awareness campaign is ongoing nationwide. He paused, then asked the question I assume many are quietly holding:

"So... will this VAT make things more expensive? Is this another tax to burden us?" I told him that VAT or "Value Added Tax" is a tax that is built gradually into the price of goods and services as they move fr...