[cookiecaper]

Interestingly, the currently-most-prominent plan in the US for a consumption tax includes a government "prebate", a pre-allocated consumption allowance based on household size, that amounts to a basic income. Under this proposal, every month, the federal government would send you a check for the household's consumption tax rebate (which is typically going to be in the hundreds of dollars).

[JoshTriplett]

Which seems highly preferable to a complex system of what to tax and what not to tax. Rather than maintaining an ever-changing list of what should and shouldn't have sales tax applied (with associated busybody politics on various items), just effectively exempt the first $X of purchases, whatever they might be.