preserving the federal income tax to protect the livelihood of tax accountants/tax attorneys  makes about as much sense as not decriminalizing the use of narcotics and other drugs of abuse because itll put dope dealers outta work (with apologies to any tax accountants and/or attorneys who read this..and the same goes for you dope dealers: neither group has done anything to deserve me besmirching your chosen vocation with such a slanderous comparison but i needed a simile).

to add to the absurdity, this year tax preparers began enthusiastically outsourcing the actual 'work' component of their trade and even more tax returns will actually be prepared in india in the future--at least til someone in on the other end realizes the lucrative potential of the personal data theyre being given.  so the actual effect of killing the federal income tax must be balanced against the potential loss of revenue for american companies like levi-strauss and nike caused by failure to reach projected sales of their products which are themselves outsourced elsewhere.

the global implications are earthshattering if not worse! this debacle could eventually force the us to begin growing and processing its own opium poppies and coca plants just to make up for the shortfalls elsewhere.

matt: But you could exclude basics from a national sales tax.  For instnace, food could be excluded.  You could even exclude houses/rent where the value is below a certain level. Health care could be excluded.  Essentially you could come up with a way where the necessities of life, as determined by our citizenry, wouldn't be taxed at all.