Republicans to push for elimination of IRS?

A domestic centerpiece of the Bush/GOP agenda for a second Bush term is getting rid of the Internal Revenue Service, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

The Speaker of the House will push for replacing the nation's current tax system with a national sales tax or a value added tax, Hill sources tell DRUDGE.

"People ask me if I?m really calling for the elimination of the IRS, and I say I think that?s a great thing to do for future generations of Americans," Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert explains in his new book, to be released on Wednesday.

Well, this is from the Drudge Report, so it should be classified as rumor rather than solid news. But it's an interesting rumor. Constitutionally, the proposal to replace the income tax with a sales tax would be on fairly solid ground (a sale is certainly an "income, from whatever source derived"). Philosophically, Bush is likely to propose something that's revenue-neutral, so it doesn't actually win him points -- except points concerning eliminating the IRS, if that's part of the plan. (I find it unlikely. Rename? Sure. Repurpose? Sure. Eliminate? Probably not -- too many people out of a job.)

The only real benefit to changing the system is to shift the recordkeeping and administrative burden to businesses rather than individuals. That's good because it's less work, and the work can be handled by experts. That's bad because the tax becomes less visible to citizens, and thus, less likely to inspire protest.

UPDATE: Michael Badnarik has responded.