Wrong.
I have run a business through the whole gamut of C corp, S corp, and private ownership. And been self employed.
You present a false premise.
Sales and inventory are not income. In fact, you are in agreement with the IRS which now demands 1099s for sales. You would not pay taxes on sales. You would on the amount of money you profit.
I know from experience that you can hide income with S and C corp gimmicks. Maskingtrue income as dividends at lesser tax rates, avoiding Social Security and Medicare taxes using alternate income schemes, etc. You can also hide income- in-kind by using your company car etc. for personal use but charging it off to the company.
Sorry, but you are no different from the other beneficiaries of tax laws. You just don’t want to lose your benefits.
Since you claim to be someone with a lot of business experience please tell the rest of us how you will determine the income for something as simple as a proprietorship on your simplified tax form with just 4 entries.
What is the income amount for a business that took in $100,000 in payments and spent $50,000 on materials?
What do you report on your simple form?