The National Retail Federation welcomed the decision by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform to reject proposals to replace the federal income tax system with a National Retail Sales Tax. Chairman Connie Mack said that panel members had come to a consensus that an NRST would not be recommended in the report. Mack said panel members were concerned that the sales tax rate it would take to replace current income tax revenue – estimated by the Treasury Department at 22%-27% – was too high and would also encourage high levels of tax evasion. Mack said the panel was also concerned that the NRST would be highly regressive. Even at the 22%-27% rate, it would triple taxes for the lowest 20% of wage earners.
