Posted on 04/27/2015 12:43:46 PM PDT by SoConPubbie
LAS VEGAS — Sen. Ted Cruz has been gunning to abolish the Internal Revenue Service since coming to Washington two years ago.
To critics of the Texas Republican in Democratic and GOP circles, 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.
"When it comes to jobs and growth and opportunity, the two most effective levers that the federal government has to facilitate small businesses creating new jobs, are tax reform and regulatory reform," Cruz said late last week, during a 20-minute discussion while on a brief swing through Las Vegas. "I am campaigning on a flat tax that would allow every American to fill out his or her taxes on a post card that allow us to abolish the IRS."
Cruz said he envisions shifting the tracking and collection of federal taxes to "some much smaller division" of the Treasury Department. The senator said that replacing the current, complex tax code with a simple flat tax would eliminate most of the work the IRS needs to do, making the agency obsolete and "irrelevant."
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. But Cruz said his flat tax proposal might allow some deductions, possibly for popular write-offs like for charitable donations and mortgage interest charged on a primary residence, paid annually by homeowners.
"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, in terms of whether you have a couple of deductions or exemptions or not, at what rate the flat rate is set, what level of standard deductions and so those trade-offs we're currently debating."
Cruz said the theme of his campaign rests on restoring Americans' optimism for the future, as defined by three elements: "No. 1, bringing back jobs and growth and opportunity; No. 2., defending our constitutional liberties and No. 3, restoring America's leadership in the world."
The Texan emphasized that regulatory reform was just as important as tax reform in satisfying his top goal of igniting the economy and fueling job growth. Unlike his plans for tax reform, which would presumably require congressional sign-off, Cruz said he could pursue a significant amount of regulatory reform through his executive authority, and that he would do so aggressively during his first 100 days as president.
Cruz said that Washington has implemented reams of regulatory rules that executive branch bureaucrats wrote on their own, outside of the legislative process and without the approval of Congress. Accordingly, the senator, who has at times criticized President Obama for overstepping his executive authority, said that he would use his executive authority to roll many of these regulations back.
"One major area of unilateral steps concerns regulatory reform, the second half of job growth," Cruz said, explaining his views on where it's appropriate for a president to govern by executive action.
"There are a great many things that can be implemented unilaterally in the executive," he said. "The president, under Article II of Constitution, is charged with executing the laws. Many of the most burdensome rules coming from Washington come from the executive branch from unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats and if I'm elected president, one of the very top priorities is going to be to rein back those regulations, those executive orders, those rules from Washington that are burdening small businesses and killing jobs."
One insanity of our current system is that it requires individual taxpayers to funnel vast amount of money to the federal government, which then, via a spoils system, gets to decide how much it sends back down to the states.
On top of the rampant corruption of this system is the incredible inefficiency of the vast bureaucracy required to implement it. One of the additional benefits of reform would be the elimination of thousands of government jobs which are a huge drag on productivity. Most government “jobs” are just a more expensive and slightly more respectable sort of welfare.
You are correct....in my opinion, meet the new boss...same as the...
Any overhaul or closing of any Federal Agency... will be a sum zero proposition unless the 17th Amendment is repealed completely. It will be a kick the can down the road legislation. Does anyone really think our Federal Legislature and Government will care or change... look to the many felonies or crimes not be addressed right now: IRS Lois Learner, EPA e mails, Boston bombers, Benghazi, current pResident eligibility...
Fedzilla and K street will just morph into a new larger virus on the American citizen.
Speaking only for myself, I’d be willing to suffer the ‘double taxation’ if it meant we were truly getting rid of the income tax once and for all. It’s a debt I’d pay in order to free future generations from the tyranny of the IRS and the convoluted tax code which is currently used to prod and to punish and to “redistribute” wealth.
(p.s. You cannot redistribute wealth. You can only redistribute poverty.)
CPAs will not be put out of work with a flat tax (or better yet, a consumption tax). Instead, their work opportunities will increase with the explosion of new small business that are created and which will need CPAs to help them manage their payrolls and investments.
Amen to that.
To your excellent list, I would add that another huge advantage of eliminating the income tax and the IRS is that it would remove a tool of oppression and extortion that many in the government currently use to threaten, intimidate, and punish political or personal enemies.
Second, it would eliminate the giant drag on productivity that happens when countless hours are spent preparing complex documents for the April 15 deadline. And it’s more than just the time. For many of us, filling out tax forms is highly stressful. For many, it has a horrible impact on our personal lives for days or weeks.
There is no need to give poor people refunds. Don’t be distracted by that argument. It’s a false premise that serves to distract from the real argument.
There is nothing in the Constitution that says the government should be in the welfare or charity business. It’s time for government welfare to end.
Charity is voluntary. Coerced “giving” is not charity at all. It is theft. When government (and its vast, unnecessary bureaucracy) gets out of the charity racket, it will leave individuals with more money in their pockets and they can make their own charitable decisions. When I help someone who is down on his luck, I make sure the money is needed and not spent on drugs or squandered on unnecessary crap like tattoos or diamond ear studs. The government has no such oversight. Even better, I generally give what is needed and don’t just hand over cash.
Private citizens can band together in groups to help in situations that are too big for a single person to deal with. (These groups are often known as “churches”.)
You are right.
One major hurdle in eliminating the IRS is that it is currently a prime tool for legislators to reward or punish their favorite groups. As a result, it’s a major source of (bribery) income to legislators. It’s a prime reason that so many lobbyists are making big bucks. And it’s a tool used to terrorize political enemies. Congresscritters will be reluctant to give up such a powerful tool of income and terror.
I agree with you, but try getting all the politicians, gov’t bureaucrats, and half of the citizens to agree.
Regarding the prebates, how does the taxing entity keep track of the amount spent? Would we have to keep track of receipts or use a special number for each purchase? Just curious.
Nothing that complicated.
_Every_ taxpayer gets the prebate, because it assumes that everyone will spend at least the poverty level.
I suppose you’ll have some SSN fraud going on, but that will be peanuts compared to the compliance costs we currently have.
Beyond cops and firefighters at the local level and soldiers at the federal level, we don’t really need very many public “workers.” And, frankly, a lot of local police and fire services could be outsourced.
We certainly don’t need government schools. Let parents with children take charge of educating their own kids. Some would home school (which is ideal), while others might unite with other parents and/or local churches to form schools that the parents pay for with tuition (not tax) money.
Post 34 from Hostage has this link https://fairtax.org/faq. It speaks a bit about the prebate, though it doesn’t say if the prebate is electronically deposited for each taxpayer each month or how it is accomplished. Interesting points. Thanks Hostage.
The prebate is the dumbest idea ever. Plus think of the bureaucracy required to just organize it.
Agree.
Re: cops. Few of them are protecting us. Most are raising revenue (writing tickets, confiscating property, ...) or writing reports. They are more interested in writing the report on the robbery than on catching the robbers.
Far too much power is located in DC... The Uni-party will fight to keep it. The 17th has to be repealed or nothing will be lasting, no true reform can occur. The 17th Amendment is like a form of Cancer on our Republic. It has to be eliminated in order for the patient to recover and survive.
Imagine 50 or is it 57 State Governors, involved and up for elections on different cycles... even with current technology, the power in DC would checked to an appropriate level.
Exactly.
My big concern is from another FReeper’s tagline. It said something on the order of this: You can’t expect a corrupt government to fix a corrupt government.
Food for thought.
I pray that citizens, especially the ones on FR get behind the 17th Amendment being repealed.
If not, the shadow of the former Republic will truly fade forever. My children will have to make their way in a truly dark world.
The flower has been almost been cut off from its moral roots. The final cut will be the electoral college removal.
There is nothing civil about war. The free sh*t crowd will not die easy.
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