The FairTax model works.
Import Tariffs work. Don’t buy, don’t pay.
Sorry, I didn’t see your comment until just now.
I wouldn’t say the FairTax “works.” I would say it “is promising.”
My main misgiving with the FairTax is that it would either have a rate that is too high (if applied to goods typically subject to sales tax) or would require that the extension of the VAT to services not typically subject to sales tax (such as the implicit rent in owner-occupied housing).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairTax
I similarly liked the Flat Tax when that was proposed by academics Hall and Rabushka. A lot of good things in that proposal, but also some practical problems.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall%E2%80%93Rabushka_flat_tax
Trump’s tax cut during his first administration was a step forward, and I think we can take further incremental steps to transition to a new tax code like the FairTax at a rate (or set of rates) that is (or are) reasonable.
My original post was that while Trump has dribbled out specific tax cuts, such as no tax on tips, these things could be incorporated into a whole that makes sense for which I gave the example of Ted Cruz’ tax proposal. Cruz’ tax proposal includes a VAT of 16 percent (which is in line with most other VATs in the world), and a federal income tax of 10 percent on income above a very high level. Effectively, Cruz’ proposal exempts tip-workers and people who depend on Social Security benefits because of its very high zero bracket.
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/analysis-ted-cruzs-tax-plan
Of course, all of this discussion becomes academic if we lose this fall.