Many See the VAT Option as a Cure for Runaway Deficits

CATHERINE RAMPELL

Published: Friday, December 11, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, December 11, 2009 at 5:09 a.m.

Runaway federal deficits have thrust a politically unsavory savior into the spotlight: a nationwide tax on goods and services.

Members of Congress, like their constituents, are squeamish about such ideas, instead suggesting spending cuts or higher taxes on the rich. But with a lack of political will to do the former, and a practical ceiling to how much revenue can be milked from the latter, economists across the political spectrum say a consumption tax may be inevitable once the economy fully recovers.

“We have to start paying our bills eventually,â€