In many countries where enforcing income tax is hard, they do that. Often they still have income tax but since no one pays it, they try to collect it through VAT and other means. That's how you have very expensive iPhones in poor countries. It's not fun.

Sales tax is a tax that hits low income households harder, since they consume a higher portion of their income. And it's impossible to have a progressive sales tax.

So switching from income tax to sales tax would transfer money from the relatively poor to the relatively rich.

> And it's impossible to have a progressive sales tax.

It may not have been done before but it's not impossible, right? You pay 5% on the first 10k you spend in a year, 12% on the next 30k, 20% on the next 50k, etc.

Aren't luxury taxes and exemptions on necessities an attempt at this as well?

How would you enforce that? Track every purchase and attribute it to the correct taxable entity?

That would mean no more cash.

If I send my kid to buy groceries, is that sales tax on the kid or me?

Just give negative income tax?

Also income tax/corporate tax isn't work well for import items/services by foreign country. So I think sales tax is a fair good way for taxing, but it's quite unpopular.