a sales tax is the most regressive type of tax on poorer folks.  They would pay a far larger percentage of their income on a sales tax than a higher income earner.  An income tax would be graduated to accommodate that fact. A sales tax wouldn`t.  An income tax would be far easier and less costly to administer and it wouldn`t put an undue strain on local rural communities that have far weaker local economies able to afford sales taxes on goods and services. Just my two cents.