Avi-Yonah on the History of the Consumption Tax Debate

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, University of Michigan Law School, has posted The Rise and Fall of the Consumption Tax: A Historical Perspective.  Here is the abstract:

William Andrews (HLS)

This article will survey the great consumption vs. income tax debate from a historical perspective. The focus here is not on which tax base is better, but rather on how this debate evolved over time inside and outside legal academia. As we shall see, there was one point in which the consumption tax came close to being adopted - in 2005, when it was one of two alternatives recommended by the Bush tax reform panel. But the moment passed, and it seems unlikely to return.