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A 23% sales tax would kill our economy.

You pay more than that now by a long sight.

DO YOU PAY YOUR INCOME TAX
AT THE SUPERMARKET?
by D. Sherman Cox J.D. L.L.M. Taxation

The article considers only those factors actually paid to government out of impositions on the business in complying with the income, payroll, excise & tariff tax laws and does not account for the additional burdens pressed on the economy as a consequence to complying with the current tax code.

The total contribution of the federal tax system(including taxes in gross wage/salaries) to the price of retail consumption goods and services is 36% for federal taxes alone.

Why? Because wages and the taxes on them are paid for out of sales receipt to business,(i.e. consumption expenditure). If we add in a cost of compliance of more than $600billion/year as a very conservative estimate, the percentage that represents the burden on the family due to the Federal income payroll tax system increases to about a 47% of family consumption expenditures.

Total fed taxes as reflected through gross family income is 23.5% (taxfoundation)
Total state taxes reflected through gross family income is about 10.2% (taxfoundation)
The current net personal savings/investment rate is about 1.2%.(BEA)

Tax as % of current family retail expenditure = fed/(1-state-fed-savings) =

23.5/(1-.235-0.102-0.012) = 36.09%

Current total Federal tax revenues are about $1900billion, more than $600billion(Paine '97, Pilla '95, AGCCA 2000, Williams 2000) additional dollars are passed on in consumption prices due to the business costs of complying with the federal income/payroll tax laws.

Percent total current federal burden (taxes + compliance costs) of consumption dollars = 36*(1900+600)/1900 = 47.36% as passed through consumption prices.

Reduce the taxes on business and simplify them in any way possible ultimately means a lower price and higher standard of living for the citizen.

Granted. But when people visibly and daily see how much they are being gouged, it will definitely affect their spending habits and the economy: "Let's see. Let's buy that $20,000 car, but pay $24,600 for it. On second thought, we can't afford it after you throw in the interest payments we will be paying on that extra $4,600."

Maybe it will affect the economy in a good way--prices might actually come down as companies lower prices to offset the NST. Things do seem to have a way of balancing out after a while.