Elites and ordinary Americans have vastly different levels of trust in the government--around 16% for ordinary Americans up to 89% for Ivy League super-elites. With government made up largely of elites who covet as much control over our lives as they can get, it's no wonder that they want to keep the income tax system in place.
The FAIRtax would not only be simpler, fairer and much less expensive to administer and enforce, it would transfer real power from the government to the people and show everyone just how much the government is costing us.