If you pay not tax on your income, there is no point in having a mortgage tax deduction.
People have to change their whole way of thinking.
E.g. someone makes $60,000, with a mortgage interest of $20,000. Now that person pays taxes on $40,000 of their income.
Under the national sales tax, you get the entire $60,000 in hand, pay your $20,000 mortgage and you ONLY Pay taxes on the $40,000, IF you spend it all. Even then you are not paying any more taxes. And if you don't spend the $40K, you are ahead.
They will have to figure out what the appropriate sales tax rate is, but I don't see it as hurting people who own their homes and are paying interest.
Just to be clear, I support scrapping the income tax.
My post was an analysis of the political landscape relating to such a change, not of the change itself.
I am afraid I have to disagree with you. If a taxpayer has $20,000 of mortgage interest or any amount of deductions, that amount does not lower the amount of taxable income as the same amount. The taxpayer only gets a percentage of the deduction not the whole amount. The only fair tax is a flat tax; however I believe the first $15,000 dollars of income should be exempt. So someone making $25,000/year will only have federal taxes of $1000. If one makes $150,000/year the bill will be $13,500. Hong Kong and Singapore have had flat taxes for years. The former Baltic Republics of the Soviet Union were so sucessful with their economy based on flat rate, the Russians changed to a flat rate which has helped their economy tremendously.
As far a SS reform, look to Argentina. They changed their system in the 80's. It is probably the strongest one in the western hemisphere. It encourages work and investment and savings by making the people more responsible for their own retirement.