I'm not sure I buy that as a "because". I think it's more likely sales taxes are passed preferentially because income taxes are more often defeated in legislatu

I'm not sure I buy that as a "because". I think it's more likely sales taxes are passed preferentially because income taxes are more often defeated in legislatures due to political opposition, not because of technocratic arguments about collectibility. It would be interesting to have some numbers on collectibility, though. Both income taxes and sales taxes can be dodged (black-market purchases and out-of-state online purchases are two common ways of dodging sales taxes). There are a number of examples of states raising either one, and it'd be interesting if someone has extracted data on the results.