I know it won’t work because some businesses work on high volume, really slim margins (such as grocery stores) but I really believe the solution is still to have a tax based on gross receipts with no credits, deductions, or anything like that. Call it like alternate minimum taxes for businesses maybe?

As for personal income tax, I strongly believe all credits, deductions, exemptions should be abolished/phased out completely. These are nothing but an extra tax on the lazy, the stupid, and the poorly educated like me. Whether you have zero dependents or a hundred, your tax obligation does not change. Whether you donated nothing or all your income, your tax obligation does not change. Why can’t we have that?

Except it's not that simple. There are a lot of legal grey area techniques that people use to avoid taxes. Tricks that the average person cannot take advantage of because it would not be cost effective to have to defend them in tax court.