I do agree that these guesses of equivalent tax rates are at best guesses. There is no way to estimate the dynamics of how markets will change and the type of revenue that would be expected at different tax rates. If the plan were to be implemented, we would probably have to update the tax rates fairly frequently over the course of the first year or two to get to the "correct" level. My guess is that at the beginning, sales will drop and thus tax receipts would be less than the long run average.
The reason is this, if you knew that in two or three months we would be switching to the NRST, wouldn't you buy like crazy right now to stock up on things before the new sales tax was added? I know I would. We would probably see a huge boom of sales before the switch, a large drop after the switch, and a relatively quick growth back to the optimal levels.
By the Way Hastert to talk to Hannity about his thoughts on Sales Tax on the Radio in a moment, TUNE IN, to Hannity Radio Talk Show NOW!