I posted this elsewhere, but will rant again, until someone says “you’re wrong because . . .” :-)
A tax on gross eliminates the “bribe me and I’ll cut you a tax break” sword that hangs over businesses. The side benefit is that businesses will take a harder look at where their money goes - with no more unproductive tax write-offs, the money will be directed to areas that create wealth and jobs.
It will be tough on the spendy restaurants, country club memberships and all the other outfits that exist only because of those write-offs, but perhaps this country will then get back to making things other people really need.
Maybe they could imbed in the reform that any changes to the 9-9-9 percentages would have to be voted on by the public only in a presidential election.
Why can't a sales tax be corrupted just as easily as the income tax was, crammed with special exemptions, different rates for the output of well-connected and powerless industries, etc.? It seems to me the two tax systems just as easily lend themselves to arbitrariness, and stacking a new sales tax on the income tax as in the 999 approach may actually expand the opportunity to game the system. Is there something about the plan I am missing?