The United States would stand to lose 850,000 jobs by adding a European-style sales tax on top of the existing U.S. tax structure, according to an economic analysis commissioned by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and published by The Washington Post.

Adding a European-style tax would also damage retail sales for years to come, the analysis said.

The report studied the potential effect of a 10.3 percent value-added tax, or VAT, a form of sales tax applied at every stage of production.

NRF President Matthew Shay, in an interview with the Post, said the study is intended to push back against rising interest in a VAT in Washington, D.C.

The study projected such a tax would raise close to $400 billion a year, but the economic consequences would be dramatic with 850,000 jobs lost in the first year alone and retailers in line to lose $2.5 trillion in business during the first decade of the tax’s existence.

“Supporters claim a VAT is the solution to the nation’s economic ills, but nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “This report has found that a VAT would have negative economic consequences for most working Americans alive today.”

The economy would stand to benefit by the 10th year of the tax, but the report recommended reducing government spending by $400 billion a year as a better approach.