Should the income tax be like the sales tax the more you buy the more you pay and do away deductions?

It DOES work that way.  The higher your income, the more you pay.  You can choose the set amount.  There is no requirement to use the deductions schedule, but if you have a large amount of deductions, you would be better off claiming the deductions.

Then it would just be sales tax.

Income taxes are a percentage of income just like sales tax is a percentage of sale on certain items.  Not everything has sales tax in most states.  For example, unprepared food is not taxed in California because it's a necessity.  That's the same concept for deductions.  The abuse of deductions and tax loopholes is a different story.

They already are alike.

More sales -> more sales tax.

More income -> more income tax.

Sales tax exempts basic needs like food & clothing.

Income tax exempts an amount, dependent on your family size, for basic needs like food & clothing.

No.

Sales taxes are, by their very nature, regressive.  The poor and middle class spent a bigger portion of their income and, as such, would be paying a bigger portion of the taxes.

Overall, the tax burden on the rich would go down and it would go up for everyone else.

HEAR  HEAR     

Boomer, it does NOT work that way. Wealthy people don't SPEND their monney... they INVEST!