But who defines what you can ‘spare’???
Like I said - YOU do. If you spend it, you pay tax. I’m not saying that his quote needs to be the law, and I’m most certainly not saying that the government should decide what you can “spare”.
All I’m saying is that a sales tax fits the definition, and it’s a LOT better, IMO, than an income tax. If sales tax goes up too much, you can decide you can’t “spare” that $200 for a new BBQ grill right now... So, you don’t spend it.
This also will promote savings, which the economists occasionally set off alarms about.