What would I replace it with? As is currently proposed, a national sales tax of 23-25% on goods and services would be far, far preferable as it is levied on far fewer units (businesses) in society than the income tax (which is levied on a hundred million households in the US). That alone reduces management and oversight overhead tremendously.

Furthermore, all businesses already do accounting which is turned into the authorities; the extra paperwork burden of this is relatively small. Most businesses have professional accountants to do their accounting for them, that would make this part of the regular workflow.

Now, sales taxes are known to be regressive, since they fall on life necessities as well as luxury items. Therefor it makes sense to not levy a ST on foodstuffs (sans intoxicants and stuff like tobacco), thereby lightening the burden on low income households.

I can also imagine a ST being a burden on small businesses, so exempting the first, say 10,000$ of biz revenue from the ST could be done, also adjustable according to general economic conditions.

But anyway, there's a tax even better than this, more just, less privacy invading and with no negative social consequences: it's The Land Value Tax.

Just tax land.

#lvt #econ #policy