Posted on 4/27/2015, 10:02:31 AM by Din Maker
Sen. Ted Cruz has been gunning to abolish the Internal Revenue Service since coming to Washington two years ago.
To critics, it sounds like bluster. The fiery rhetoric garners hearty applause from conservative audiences, particularly since revelations in 2013 that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny. But some federal agency is going to have to collect taxes, so Cruz's vow to shutter the IRS smacks of a politically motivated campaign promise rather than serious policy — at least to some.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner on Friday, the 2016 presidential candidate began to put some meat on the bones. Cruz, 44, explained how "abolishing the IRS" fits into his proposal, still being crafted by his team of economic advisors, for wholesale tax reform. This proposal, which Cruz plans to unveil later this year, is a key plank in his domestic agenda for economic growth that he would pursue as president.
In its purest form, a "flat tax" treats all taxpayers equally. Income is taxed at the same rate regardless of earnings or wealth, while allowing for no tax deductions or exemptions.
"We will roll it out with precise details in the coming weeks or months," he said. "There are trade-offs to be had and we're right now internally having those debates. But Cruz said his flat tax proposal might allow some deductions, possibly for charitable donations and mortgage interest charged on a primary residence.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
I don’t know that we can abolish the IRS, but with some kind of tax reform, we should be able to reduce the agency’s size and curtail its powers.
It's not going to happen.
Regardless...say it does...there are a whole bunch of other taxes that will have to kick in, be upped or some newbies to take up the deficient.
The Feds have to get out of the Big Daddy business....Head Start, Michelle's cr** lunch "dictate"....etc etc
If Cruz’s plan doesn’t include repeal of the 16th Amendment, it’s pointless. As long as the income tax exists, both sides of the Uniparty will start promising that they can make “the rich” pay all the taxes.
It’s all about our debt. Get rid of the debt....and you’re home free. Until then...even thinking about it is ridiculous.
Doesn't anyone know the difference between "reign" and "rein"? I see them mixed up on FR regularly. To reign means to be a ruler.
And the usage is wrong. You don't "rein back"; you "rein in".
/ grammar police
Au contraire; rein-back is a dressage term to indicate the two-beat movement in which a horse is asked to back up. The horse picks up and sets down its feet almost in diagonal pairs, and moves straight backwards with the line of his forelegs following those of his hind.
We have 8 jumping nags here...
 |
Freedom ≠ Free Stuff☭ |  |
| I, for one, welcome our new Cybernetic Overlords /. | ||
|
|
||
Every body with a brain the size of a “MUSTARD SEED” must realize by now that the IRS, EPA, and 75% of all these ALPHABET GOVERNMENT AGENCIES have been politicized. The only option we have, as a people, is to get rid of all these GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. The only ones that will be damaged by this action will be these WASHINGTON BUREAUCRATS, that have caused all this damage.
Flat tax is in Pennsylvania with some exemptions, it has resulted in a bazillion other taxes and fees, I wouldn’t recommend what Cruz proposes. Instead, a good no-brainer start would be to put economists in charge of economic matters instead of criminal defense attorneys.
The first stage in America dealing with its debt is to get rid of all the barriers to producing wealth.
One of those barriers is a byzantine (and increasingly arbitrary and politically motivated) tax system.
The US tax code is something like 74,000 pages.
Reforming the tax system will be a long, difficult task because so many people are making their living off of that behemoth, lawyers in particular.
But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be tried.
Cutting the number of appointees would be a good move. Appointees are by definition not the best qualified (or even marginally qualified) candidates for the job. Instead they serve at the pleasure of their patron, and have one purpose in mind, to cover the relevant butts. They act against the interests of the public that pays them. The IRS should employ people based on merit and should be answerable to the public, and not to the politicians any more than any other member of the public. Politicians spend money and it is important to keep their grubby hands away from tax-collecting authorities.
Now you get it...See Post #4
I think if the flat tax plan eliminates even the mortgage interest deduction for a primary residence, the rate could be as low as 18.75% if we even end the FICA tax for Social Security. That right there would put it among the lowest income tax rates in the world.
I agree. Gotta get tax reform. I personally favor the Fair Tax, because it is well, Fair. A reasonable percentage rate on what we buy. Abolish income taxes completely.
But of that 50% I will bet you that they “think” they are paying income taxes because they pay Social Security and Medicare. (Don’t explain it to me, because I am aware of the difference.)
Its not the tax rates that cause the IRS to be horrible, its the bureaucracy. My small business was audited two years ago. I had omitted my deduction for a home office because taking it would not have changed my tax return. It set off a flag.
After about 200 hours of meetings and assessment, I owed an additional $800 because they did not agree with my mileage tracking. It was less than 1% of my gross revenue.
Assuming a fully loaded $50 an hour for the auditor, the IRS spent $10,000 to get $800. They consumed about a weeks worth of my time collecting and organizing supporting documentation. So, that would have been about another $2,000 of lost productivity.
All told, the IRS sucked out $12,000 in productivity to make good on $800.
I have to believe most small business audits end up this way.
THIS is why the IRS should be abolished. It is a waste of money.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.