[NetValue]

"I'm a CPA and I say go for it! The tax code is an abomination. Just think of all the lobbyists who would be out of a job too!"

I am an Enrolled Agent who has written on the nightmarish complexity of the tax laws and their impact on the citizenry. There has to be a better way than the way we have now (which survives primarily so politicians on both sides can grant favors.)

[Maximum Leader]

Well, I doubt we'll see a NRST (which is a pity). The only way to get a consumption tax through Congress would be a "Progress Consumption Tax" like the Nunn-Domenici plan thats been around since, well, before Sam Nunn left the Senate 6 years ago.

In this plan, you still file a return, but every dollar that an individual invests is tax-exempt. Everything that is left over is consumption and taxable. There is a large exemption at the bottom rates and a progressively higher rate on the consumption as you have a a higher income.
Corporations are taxed similiarly-- basically its a VAT tax on corporate revenue.

Obviously its not as economically efficient as a NRST tax but it would be an improvement over the present system (weven when the Democrats muck it up with tax breaks for the poor and Republican muck it up with tax breaks for corporations). For the economy to grow, its better to tax consumption than income.