Income Tax- Elimated?

Today I was reading articles on Digg and there was a link to a bill that has been submitted in the House of Representatives by 44 Republicans to eliminate federal income tax and raise a national sales tax.
At first the news surprised me and I thought the whole idea was ridiculous and didn't think it was a good idea at all. However, as I thought about it more, the bill seemed more reasonable. Firstly, eliminating income tax would put more money in the pockets of all Americans. This is something that all of us need in this time of recession. Next, a national sales tax would mean that we would only be taxed for what we buy and no longer would we be taxed just for making money.
A national sales tax could at first deter sales of goods just due to the shock people would have at buying something at a higher price than they are used to. However, I think that once people see that they have more money in their pockets to spend the economy could actually be stimulated by such a plan.
I do see that there may be some downsides to the bill. For one, the government, depending on the national sales tax rate, would probably not have as much revenue, so federal supported programs would see cuts: Medicare, education, etc. Another downside is that some people may not benefit as much under this bill as they do currently, in particular low income households, they would spend more on necessities and being receiving less federal aid.
I think such a change could be just the stimulus we need to jumpstart the economy, eliminate the IRS, and shrink the government.