That's where the bait-and-switch comes in. The government gives everybody some amount of money each year as a standard tax credit, sort of like a guaranteed income. At some point, they'll want to make this based on need (i.e. income), and so we'll be back to having to file 1040 forms again.
Any tax that has income-redistribution effects, will eventually require a form 1040, and will become as onerous as our current system. That is just the nature of politicians and income redistribution.
Slowhand luke is worried that this is income redistribution.
Not at All.
IT really is a tax credit of your own money, prefunded at the beginning of the month with a Prebate.
The concept is to give you or your family a credit up to the poverty line of spending that refunds you the tax you paid on those purchases up to that level. No receipts to keep, no complicated IRS forms, jsut a simple form with family names and valid Social Security numbers to determine family size and size of your prebate. Maid or millionaire you recieve the same sized prebate. That's Fair and simpler to administer.
A Family of 4 has a 2005 povertyline level on "necessities" of $25,660 the tax on that spending is $5,902. In 95% of the cases, the Federal Government is giving that family a credti of their own money to be spent. $492/m to cover the National Sales tax on all purchases of new products and services for that month. The family at this level will have a net efeective rate of ZERO.
The Best introduction and overview is the read through the 40+ FAQs at; http://www.fairtaxvolunteer.org/smart/faq.html