Bruce Bartlett (Forbes), The Case Against the VAT:

In a previous column, I explained why I think it would be desirable for the United States to adopt a value-added tax. In a nutshell, I think it's impossible to cut spending enough to forestall a fiscal crisis, that taxes will eventually be raised a lot, that it would be economically debilitating to raise income tax rates as high as would be necessary to get the necessary revenue, and that a broad-based consumption tax such as a VAT would be much less damaging to the economy than very large budget deficits.

Today I want to look at some of the arguments against my view. Some are serious, but many are not; they're just straw men created solely to obfuscate the issue. I will try to deal with them in order of seriousness, from least to most.

• We must repeal the 16th Amendment first in order to avoid having both a VAT and an income tax.
• The VAT is a hidden tax
• The VAT is too complicated and will be riddled with exemptions
• The VAT is inflationary
• The VAT is a money machine
• The VAT is regressive, taking more out of the pockets of the poor