In many states in the US, if you go and buy materials, as a business, you pay a sales tax. There are exemptions and partial rebates, but there's nothing across all industries, and it varies by state. So if you were a farmer you might find you were exempt on fertilizer and tractors but not on a pickup truck.

That's different to a VAT, because there, as long as you're a registered business for VAT purposes, all purchases you make are exempt from VAT - either you don't pay it when you purchase and are invoiced by a business, or you can claim it back if you keep receipts. Companies have to register for VAT when revenue hits a certain amount; here in the UK it's £85k for e.g.