[yummyfajitas]

An additional problem with VAT is that it is mostly transparent to the people being taxed.

If you raise my taxes with VAT, I'll notice prices of assorted goods going up slightly, be too lazy to add up the various cost increases. If you raise my income taxes, I'll immediately notice that I'm $2000 poorer than I was before, and maybe I'll vote for the other guy.

[jerf]

Your argument is what I was thinking of when I said "not eliminated, but lessened". I'm against it for that reason too, but I am pretty sure many people are resisting simply because it would be a tax increase.

I also think that the stealth nature of the tax is the actual reason it is being discussed, but I figured that was getting political, and what I posted was fairly defensible on (relatively) objective grounds.