In January 2005, President Bush created his Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. It was tasked to examine the tax system and propose simplified options that were revenue neutral, pro-growth and internationally competitive. One option was to be a consumption tax. The report was due and was issued on November 1, 2005.

The panel held public hearings, reviewed lots of data and studies and suggested reforms. One of their initial findings was the high cost of tax system complexity which they estimated to be $140 billion per year. Per the panel:

“To put this amount in perspective, it is roughly the same as giving $1,000 to every family in America or the amount of money needed to fund all of the following: the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, NASA, Read More