You don’t need a sales tax to make sue everyone pays.
You could make a minimum income tax rate no matter what deductions and credits would otherwise do — an AMT for everyone, not just the high earners.
Or you could have businesses pay a 5% tax on gross revenues instead of profits, and everyone would pay as that tax was embedded in the price of everything they buy. A 5% GRT would replace ALL other federal taxes including Corporate and Personal Income taxes and SS/M taxes. It would have to be paired with import tariffs and export credits, however, or it would kill off American manufacturing even worse than the embedded corporate and payroll taxes are doing.
Problem with income tax, is 50% of the population will continue to make no contribution. National sales tax fixes that glaring disparity.
If you defend the income tax in any way shape or form then you are a progressive.