What I personally don't understand is the reluctance to tax consumption as opposed to production. From my point of view, it is easier to decide how much to tax

What I personally don't understand is the reluctance to tax consumption as opposed to production. From my point of view, it is easier to decide how much to tax a particular good or service e.g. a luxury car vs. a basic car vs. public transport. Another example would be a salon visit vs. a doctor visit. In addition, sales taxes are less personal (maybe even less controversial). As opposed to taxing "me" or "you", tax that "thing". Finally, sales tax seems easier to enforce since it is applied at the point of sale. However, I will admit that it's easy to avoid paying sales tax if transactions are paid for by cash.