I figure if they did put in a flat tax..... it would be negotiated. You’d end up with deductions for basic services (food etc). You’d have deductions for people making under 20k per year. You’d have deductions for seniors spending it on health care and retirement services etc. No way that it would be truly a consumption tax.
You’re certainly correct. It would be - plain and simple - still an income tax (and we’d still have the IRS with all its downside).
A flat tax would also not gain any tax revenue from the “underground economy” such as illegal aliens, drug dealers, etc. Nor would it help make our manufacturers more competitive overseas.