>>VAT scares me but NRST sounds like a good replacement for the IRS.
Agree. The VAT could destroy our manufacturing base. I prefer the NRST whereby "retail" includes imported goods and services.
>>The VAT could destroy our manufacturing base. <<
NAFTA is doing very well at that by itself.
Visibility with a VAT is not a huge issue; we could pass accomodating lagislation that the tax paid by quoted on a receipt. It was just that the EU decided to make it hidden. But a bigger issue with a VAT is that it distorts supply chains. Under a VAT, you don't pay taxes to yourself, but only when you buy something from somebody else. As a result, Companies under a VAT try and get their entire production process "under one roof" instead of buying outside the company.
I love the NRST tho. Go HR 25!