I'm in Norway. There is no real way to avoid knowing what the VAT on things are.

I have to pay it if I order from Amazon or Etsy, for example. If I order from the US, I pay later.

Every sales receipt has the VAT right on the receipt. I can see it every single time. If I order from inside the country, I can see it before I pay.

It isn't hidden. It isn't secret.

It wasn't even secret to an immigrant that didn't yet understand enough Norwegian to know.

What I do get is to be reasonably certain what I'm going to pay when I get to the cash register. I don't have to do mental gymnastics with a total if I'm tight on money - like I have many times in the US. It won't change if I'm in a different part of Norway. There simply aren't as many price surprises like that.