Go to Europe and see how the VAT tax works. It hits the little guy hard. 15 % tax at the consumer level. In the USA it may hinder consumer purchases. A better idea, IMHO, would be a flat income/revenue tax of 10% on EVERYONE, INCLUDING MULTINATIONAL corporations doing business in the USA, with ZERO deductions or loopholes, where everyone has some “skin in the game”.

Perhaps by forcing people to daily see the cost of government they might realize how wasteful much of it is and demand change. I agree, there are core functions with which the federal government is tasked, enumerated by the Constitution, and these must be funded. Instead of placing more and more of the burden on less and less of the populace, a national sales tax would spread that burden.

molonlabe,

This Act does not “create another bureaucratic leviathan”. The already existing U.S. Treasury collects the federal sales tax from the states.

From FairTax.org, where you can review the bill as well as other information about the tax…

“Retail businesses collect the tax from the consumer, just as state sales tax systems already do in 45 states; the FairTax is simply an additional line on the current sales tax reporting form. Retailers simply collect the tax and send it to the state taxing authority. All businesses serving as collection agents receive a fee for collection, and the states also receive a collection fee. The tax revenues from the states are then sent to the U.S. Treasury.”

Raichu,

You obviously did not read this bill nor did you read my critique above. If this bill sought to eliminate the income tax completely without replacing it with another tax I would support this bill. Unfortunately this bill seeks to eliminate the federal income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.

I can only think of a few government programs that are actually beneficial. We need to do away with taxes, we are taxed too much. I doubt you pay much taxes or you’d change your tune.

I am certainly not prepared to just do away with taxes. They finance almost all of our government programs, many of which are beneficial overall. Perhaps the money can be administered better, but that’s no reason to just get rid of tax revenue.

Eliminating the IRS only to create a national sales tax will eliminate one bureaucratic leviathan: the IRS, only to create another bureaucratic leviathan which will collect the national sales tax. We should work to repeal to the personal income tax and replace it with nothing.