Comment by verdverm
3 years ago
Most economists would remove income tax in favor of sales / VAT, if the politics of the situation were not part of the equation.
3 years ago
Most economists would remove income tax in favor of sales / VAT, if the politics of the situation were not part of the equation.
Sales/VAT are regressive, so if by politics you mean "not hosing the already hosed (the poor)", and by most economists you mean folks from the Austrian school of economics, then sure.
Sales and VAT do not have to be regressive, that is a shallow and incorrect talking point that has spread. Sales taxes today already make distinction between necessities and luxuries. In other words, there are many ways to implement sales/VAT taxes and the details matter for the outcomes