>Consumption taxes are regressive because they penalize the spenders. Bill Gates doesn't spend nearly as much money as he earns and as such pays a lower effecti

>Consumption taxes are regressive because they penalize the spenders. Bill Gates doesn't spend nearly as much money as he earns and as such pays a lower effective tax rate than someone who makes $30,000 a year and spends it all to support their family. You are ignoring the part he put in about the stipend to cover tax on basic living expenses. With that included, the $30K spender will pay a much lower effective tax rate than Bill Gates. Making a flat consumption tax progressive in practice is a very simple solved problem --- there might be other arguments against a flat consumption tax but it being regressive is not really one of them. A rebate or prebate that covers the tax up to a certain dollar amount per person solves it nicely.