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Let's see what the AFT has to say:

Excise Tax:
An excise tax is a tax on the sale or use of certain products or transactions. So every time you make a telephone call, buy a plane ticket, or ride in a car (to name but a few), you are paying an excise tax.

And the authors obviously think a sales tax is different from a excise tax, otherwise why would the FairTax bill establish an Excise Tax Bureau and a Sales Tax Bureau? Aren't they the same?

And the authors obviously think a sales tax is different from a excise tax,

Totally irrelavant to the issue of whether or not taxation of a product under a retail sales tax is an excise for purposes of economic analysis, or indeed even legally an excise as it is very obviously seen to be in many contexts.

otherwise why would the FairTax bill establish an Excise Tax Bureau and a Sales Tax Bureau?

Different focus, different bureaus.

Excise Bureau adminsters current specific federal excises as they exist now, that aren't under the BATF and need an administrative agency to take the place of those departments within the IRS that now handle them.

Sales Tax Bureau is specifically assign the job of working with states in administering provisions of the NRST.

SEC. 302. ADMINISTRATION OF OTHER FEDERAL TAXES.

(a) In General- Section 7801 (relating to the authority of the Department of the Treasury) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(d) Excise Tax Bureau- There shall be in the Department of the Treasury an Excise Tax Bureau to administer those excise taxes not administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

`(e) Sales Tax Bureau- There shall be in the Department of the Treasury a Sales Tax Bureau to administer the national sales tax in those States where it is required pursuant to section 404, and to discharge other Federal duties and powers relating to the national sales tax (including those required by sections 402, 403, and 405). The Office of Revenue Allocation shall be within the Sales Tax Bureau.'.

Aren't they the same?

Economic classification of the taxes is irrelavent to the duties assigned to the bureaus