[ConservativeMind]

Regulations and income/business taxes should be brought down. The excise tax should equal the averaged sum of effective income tax rates from both personal and business, such that all foreign products bought pay a similar tax burden as the US paid for its own produced goods.

In a country that has welfare, unemployment, a lost work ethic, increased crime, and H1-Bs and illegals taking jobs from citizens, products from elsewhere should not get free import treatment.

[9YearLurker]

Reducing regulations, income tax rates, and illegal immigration, will more than solve the problem.

A VAT—which is what you are talking about—is a very bad idea. It is the most hidden of taxes, which Europe and elsewhere have already demonstrated are thus the easiest to jack up higher and higher. More importantly, the income tax isn’t about to be eliminated in return, and so your “shoulds” are all around just dreary tax policy for Americans, who are already overtaxed.