George Will Supports a National Sales Tax as He Flunks Math

Will’s latest Washington Post oped:

He would erase the federal income tax system – personal and corporate income taxes, the regressive payroll tax and self-employment tax, capital gains, gift and estate taxes, the alternative minimum tax, and the earned-income tax credit – and replace all that with a 23 percent national sales tax on personal consumption … And his bill untaxes the poor by including an advance monthly rebate for every household equal to the sales tax on consumption of essential goods and services, as calculated by the government, up to the annually adjusted poverty level.

Will does note that passing a national sales tax might reduce government spending dictated by K Street. He also suggests a lot of other (dubious) effects from replacing the income tax with a sales tax. But could someone donate a few dollars so Mr. Will might take a remedial math class as 23% of the tax base Mr. Will is discussing comes nowhere close to providing for total Federal spending including Social Security benefits.