Thomas F. Pogue (University of Iowa, Department of Economics) has published The Gross Receipts Tax: A New Approach to Business Taxation?, 60 Nat’l Tax J. 799 (2007). Here is the abstract:

Despite their well–understood shortcomings, gross–receipts–based taxes (GRTs) have been recently enacted or considered in a number of states, reflecting a perceived need for an alternative approach to business taxation. To determine how well a GRT meets this need, this paper addresses several questions. What principles should guide choice among taxes collected from businesses? How does the GRT stack up not only against these principles, but also against existing and other feasible taxes? How do the newly enacted GRTs compare to the taxes they replace? Are there betterreplacement taxes than the GRT? The conclusion: GRTs are at best second–best.