Yeah!
Russia uses a sales tax because its collectable, otherwise Russia would have no revenues at all.
FYI--
Russia now has a flat income tax of 13%. Russia's strategy is to make tax compliance simple and to offer a rate low enough to spur the economy. And it has been effective.
In fact, so effective has the Russian strategy been that the idea is catching fire in other countries. Slovakia ditched its progressive system - with a top rate of 38% -- and replaced it with a flat 19% income tax for both individuals and companies. Slovakia is even implementing a social security system based on personal savings accounts, another innovation that is barely on the American radar screen.
Poland introduced a 19% flat tax for personal income. Serbia is taxing most of its personal income at 10%. Estonia, which was the first of the lot to implement a flat tax, has dropped its rate to 20%.
These countries are actually following the lead of America, which has proved on more than one occasion that low taxes not only boost the economy but eventually lead to more government revenue.
America implemented its first tax-cut experiment in the 1920's. After WWI, the top rate was 77%. By 1925, the U.S. cut the top rate down to 25% and the economy took off like a rocket.
In the 1980's, the experiment was tried again. The Reagan tax cuts reduced the top rate to 28% and the result was the longest peacetime expansion in American history.