No, we should tax consumption. A consumption tax encourages savings, which lowers cost of capital, which is overall an economic stimulant. Most people say: "B

No, we should tax consumption. A consumption tax encourages savings, which lowers cost of capital, which is overall an economic stimulant. Most people say: "But wait! A consumption tax is regressive!". No, you are thinking of something like a sales tax collected at point of sale. A consumption tax can be progressive, and I do advocate for a progressive consumption tax. It is no harder to administer than the current US income tax. All the entities currently required to report to the IRS are sufficient to implement a consumption tax formula, and mostly even with the same data, although probably with a few tweaks. Income - net savings == consumption. Apply table. Done. Rich people will still buy yachts and pay their share of tax. You could even implement UBI and/or welfare as a "negative consumption tax", and eliminate huge swaths of bureaucracy.