If we just used a sales tax and abolished the IRS, we wouldn’t have any of these problems.
(But that would take away power from the government.)
It does not appear that Canada, Australia or the UK have any problem avoiding the trap and they all have income tax. You are in a real sense correct but the problem is not so much the type of tax as the mindset of the government.
We actually paid MORE in income tax in Hong Kong than we would have in the US despite the low marginal rates because there are very few deductions. We didn’t care. The tax form is one page and anyone with an 8th grade education can fill it out.
The problem is that the US tax laws are corrupt and need to be completely thrown out and replaced.
Not really. Have you ever looked at the complexity of actual sales tax laws? They are just as complex as income tax laws because defining a "sale" is just as complicated as defining "income". Apart from the many exclusions that ultimately end up being a part of any sales tax regimen, services always end up being taxed in any broad based sales tax scheme. So a large segment of the population ends up paying a percentage of their hourly wage, which seems mighty close to an income tax, because of course it is - without any deductions for expenses.
And as soon as you exclude capital assets like real estate from sales taxes, you've got all the capital gains vs. ordinary income issues that are present in our existing income tax system.
Don't fall for the replace the IRS with a national sales tax trick, its not the solution to excessive taxation.