National Sales Tax - why not?

Sales Taxes effect everyone equally. Which sounds good and works ok on a small local scale from time to time. But a national sales tax isn't ideal for the same reason a national flat tax isn't ideal. This is one thing where libertarians are democrat levels of ignorant.

Literally just sticking their fingers in their ears and going "la la la I can't hear you I just want fair flat tax".

Easy answer is because it's not a progressive tax. The poor spend a higher percent of their earnings on just day to day living so they're in effect taxed at a higher rate. The rich pay a larger actual dollar amount, but a smaller percent.

I am a proponent of it. The negatives I have heard discussed are that it makes people less likely to make large purchases because of the substantial 25% tax put on the price tag. This would hurt the car mfg in the US. The counter to that is people don't care how much cars cost anyway, as long as their monthly payment is at a certain level.

Another negative that I do see the logic in is that the super wealthy spend more money, but a much smaller percentage of their actual income. While the tax would apply to the money the spend, it would not apply to the large portion of money they don't spend, and that would go untaxed. Whereas the average American that spends everything they make would end up being taxed on their entire income.

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Easy answer is because it's not a progressive tax. The poor spend a higher percent of their earnings on just day to day living so they're in effect taxed at a higher rate. The rich pay a larger actual dollar amount, but a smaller percent.

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It doesn't allow redistribution of wealth at the point of a gun.

Sales tax involves choice. You can choose to not participate by Not engaging in the activity.

Income tax is theft. The Government steals it from you under the guise of "public good" but it is actually for the good of those who want what is yours and they get the Government to steal it from you for them.

It might lower my taxes, as local sales is 11% and state is 6%. You add my Federal at 39%, and it's getting up there...Then there is Property tax, and Health insurance that has become a huge hidden tax, and it's a wonder people can send there kids to College...

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Easy answer is because it's not a progressive tax.

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Not so. The presumption here is that rates would not be adjusted upwards for stuff that only the rich can afford. As mentioned, the new rates would be applied accordingly and be subject to certain algorithms.

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Not so. The presumption here is that rates would not be adjusted upwards for stuff that only the rich can afford. As mentioned, the new rates would be applied accordingly and be subject to certain algorithms.

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Our tax code is absurd I don't argue that, but the compliance costs of what you're proposing sound equally so. Who decides what product is taxed at what rate? And where do we find these non-corruptable people? Are all products that fall under the same category taxed the same, or are some considered luxury? If so who gets to draw the line for what's considered luxury? It all sounds like even more of a mess than what we have now.

The signle biggest reason it has not happened is that the current tax code is the biggest tool the government has to control / influence citizens' behavior. It would be the biggest transfer of power from government to people in the history of the country.

That is why it won't happen. All the other information above is just window dressing.

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Our tax code is absurd I don't argue that, but the compliance costs of what you're proposing sound equally so. Who decides what product is taxed at what rate?

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Not saying it would be easy. Old habits die hard, but you have to break eggs to make an omelet. Honestly, I think one thing that hinders a national sales tax from going forward is the average person's aversion to basic math. It's not that hard.