[mcg1969]

Assuming you are not ZOTted...

First of all, certain necessities can be made exempt from the sales tax, such as groceries. Thus, those who spend nearly all of their income on such necessities won't be paying that much in taxes. I'm not sure if the most recent proposals make such an exemption but in my opinion it ought to follow similar exemptions states apply to such necessities.

Secondly, rich people don't just buy food you know. They buy more expensive cars, eat at more expensive restaurants, go to more expensive entertainment (more often), buy more luxury items, etc. In other words, they make more, so they spend more. Thus they are taxed more.

In the end, assuming the necessity exemption I spoke of, I predict that wealthier people will pay a larger fraction of their income in taxes than a poorer person.

[ETERNAL WARMING]

Thus, those who spend nearly all of their income on such necessities won't be paying that much in taxes.

Even these people need washers, dryers and autos to drive to work. They can't afford the increase such a tax would place on the price of modern day necessities. To the wealthy, it's nothing. Afterall, their incomes have gone up from 10 to 29% according to Lou Dobbs. They're getting much richer. That is untrue of the rest of us. Our meager 2% hasn't kept pace with the increases we've all faced.

It disproportionately hurts lower incomes because they just do not have the money to pay extra.