[TopQuark]

Well, the devils is just in the details, then. The case of exempting food seems commonly accepted. But beyond that, it's a question of what constitutes "necessity" and "basics." A person that does not each much bread and spends money on tools he hopes to start business with is a consumer who will pay a sales tax. A person that spends money on college courses will likewise be subject to a sales tax. These people make an investment that is socially desirable.

The point is that, once you start getting into the details of which categories should be exempt, the same thorny issues arise, and you are end up with something unwieldy if you consider them or something unwise or unfair if you don't.

[pnh102]

The point is that, once you start getting into the details of which categories should be exempt, the same thorny issues arise, and you are end up with something unwieldy if you consider them or something unwise or unfair if you don't.

Agreed. I don't believe there will be a solution that is completely fair, aside from a 0 rate for such a sales tax. The other issue I have with the prebate is that a fixed cash payment to every household to cover the cost of the tax for "needed items" will put people who live in high cost states at a disadvantage. It will result in those people getting less value for their prebate than people in low cost states. That's another thing that exempting certain items from tax does address.