Would You Swap Your Employer's Share Of The Payroll Tax For A Consumption Tax?

Would you be willing to swap a new, broad-based consumption tax for your employer’s share of the Social Security and Medicare payroll tax? According to a new paper  by my colleagues Jim Nunns and Joe Rosenberg, it would be a good trade for all but the highest income taxpayers. Not only that, but the change would be more economically efficient, unlikely to drive up prices, and relatively easy to administer. If it were set at a rate of 4.1 percent, the new consumption tax would raise the same amount of money as the employer share of the payroll tax.